Judge Rejects GM Ignition Switch Fraud Claim

General Motors Co. has won a partial victory in a second bellwether lawsuit designed to help resolve hundreds of similar complaints about 2.6 million defective ignition switches GM recalled in 2014.

New York Federal District Judge Jesse Furman ruled that the owner of an affected 2007 Saturn Sky sports car failed to present sufficient evidence showing that GM made false or misleading statements about the car’s ignition switch, Bloomberg News reports.

But the trial will consider whether the car’s switch was at fault in causing a crash on an icy New Orleans bridge in 2014. Bloomberg says the case will go to the jury on Tuesday.

GM eventually admitted it knew for a decade that the switches could be easily jogged out of the “run” position, thereby turning off the engine, airbags and power steering and brakes. The defect has been blamed for at least 124 fatalities and 275 significant injuries. GM has since paid out more than $2 billion in fines and victim compensation.

The first bellwether case in Furman’s courtroom ended abruptly in January when the plaintiffs withdrew their lawsuit. They did so after GM presented evidence they lied to the court and that one of the plaintiffs forged a check.