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.
#legal
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.
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. Justice Dept. Asks VW to Delay Diesel Cheating Report
The U.S. Dept. of Justice has asked Volkswagen AG not to release findings of an independent probe into the German carmaker's diesel emission cheating scandal.
-
Ghosn Indicted on Two More Charges in Japan
Prosecutors in Japan have prolonged jail time for former Nissan Motor Co. Chairman Carlos Ghosn by filing two new charges against him.