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Judge Dismisses Some GM Lawsuits Over Recall Claims
A U.S. District Judge in Manhattan has dismissed several lawsuits claiming damages caused by an unprecedented 84 recalls in 2014 by General Motors Co. to make multiple repairs on 83.6 million vehicles in the U.S.
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A U.S. District Judge in Manhattan has dismissed several lawsuits claiming damages caused by an unprecedented 84 recalls in 2014 by General Motors Co. to make multiple repairs on 83.6 million vehicles in the U.S.
Judge Jesse Furman says plaintiffs can sue for specific out-of-pocket costs related to a recall. He also ruled that in some cases plaintiffs may attempt to recover lost vehicle value caused by a recalled defect.
Dozens of such class-action lawsuits were consolidated before Furman’s court. Plaintiffs’ attorneys demanded as much as $10 billion in damages.
But Furman rejected the general claim that owners are entitled to compensation simply because the volume of GM callbacks in 2014 diminished the reputation of the company in general. Such a position is “unprecedented and unsound,” Furman ruled, because it would grant consumers the right to claim damages if the manufacturer of a product they own recalls an unrelated product.
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