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Supreme Court Rejects GM Bid to Avoid Older Ignition Switch Lawsuits
The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld a lower court ruling that General Motors Co. may be sued by victims of its defective ignition switches over incidents that occurred before the company emerged from bankruptcy in 2009.
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The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld a lower court ruling that General Motors Co. may be sued by victims of its defective ignition switches over incidents that occurred before the company emerged from bankruptcy in 2009.
Today’s decision allows lawsuits to move forward that seek roughly $10 billion in compensation for injuries, fatalities and lost vehicle value.
The claims stem from 2.6 million GM ignition switches that can be easily jogged out of the “run” position, thus unexpectedly turning off the engine and deactivating the vehicle’s power steering, power brakes and airbag system.
GM initially had been granted immunity from liabilities incurred by pre-bankruptcy “old” GM. But a U.S. Court of Appeals reversed that decisions last summer.
The appellate court pointed to post-bankruptcy evidence that GM knew about the defective switches years before its bankruptcy and should have alerted consumers sooner. The court opined that blocking some customers from suing GM about its pre-2009 behavior would violate their constitutional rights to due legal process.
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