Second GM Ignition Switch Bellwether Lawsuit Begins

This week marks the start of the second of six trials designed to test courtroom strategies involving hundreds of lawsuits filed about defective General Motors Co. ignition switches.

The first of the so-called bellwether cases ended abruptly in January when GM produced evidence indicating the plaintiffs lied to the court. Such test cases are intended to help settle other similar claims.

This week’s complaint is being heard in the same New York City court. The complaint involves two plaintiffs who say a faulty ignition switch in a 2007 Saturn Sky sports car failed, causing the driver to lose control and crash on an icy bridge in New Orleans three years ago.

GM says the car, which was scratched but not dented by the low-speed crash, was not traveling fast enough to trigger the airbags. It argues the car’s ignition switch was irrelevant to the crash. The company points out there were 35 other accidents on the bridge the same night, including one between an ambulance and a police cruiser that had responded to the mayhem.

The plaintiffs’ attorney focused opening comments on GM’s admission that it knew the ignition switches in the Sky and other vehicles were defective years before recalling 2.6 million of them in February 2014. The devices can be easily jogged out of the “run” position, thereby turning off the engine and airbags.