Judge Bars Access to GM Ignition Switch Interviews
A federal judge in New York City has ruled that consumers suing General Motors Co. cannot have access to interviews collected during a probe of GM's handling of last year's recall of 2.6 million defective ignition switches.
#legal
A federal judge in New York City has ruled that consumers suing General Motors Co. cannot have access to interviews collected during a probe of GM's handling of last year's recall of 2.6 million defective ignition switches.
But the judge did order GM to turn over the names of all witnesses not cited in the resulting report, so plaintiffs' attorneys can conduct their own interviews.
Owners of the recalled cars are seeking as much as $10 billion in economic compensation for the loss of resale value for their vehicles. A separate bankruptcy judge has not yet ruled on whether "new" GM is liable for the faults of pre-bankruptcy "old" GM.
The report last year by investigator Anton Valukas found numerous procedural failures that resulted in a 10-year delay GM's decision to recall the switches. The devices can unexpectedly turn off the engine, thereby cutting power to the steering, brakes and airbag systems.
A GM compensation fund has since identified 45 fatalities and seven catastrophic injuries related to the defective switches.
RELATED CONTENT
-
Uber Settles with Family of Woman Killed in Self-Driving Car Crash
Uber Technologies Inc. has quickly settled on damages to the survivors of a woman killed in Tempe, Ariz., last week by an Uber test vehicle operating in autonomous mode.
-
U.S. Charges Five More VW Execs in Diesel Cheating Scandal
U.S. prosecutors have charged five more current or former Volkswagen AG executives in connection with the carmaker’s diesel emission cheating scandal.
-
VW Asks to Delay U.S. Diesel Emission Trials Over Hitler Reference
Volkswagen AG has asked a judge to delay several U.S. lawsuits involving rigged diesel emission controls because a lawyer representing hundreds of VW customers made “inflammatory” comments about the company.