Mexican Media Brands
Texas Judge Denies GM Bid to Dismiss Ignition Switch Case
The Texas county judge presiding over a lawsuit about a fatal crash blamed on General Motors Co.’s defective ignition switches has rejected GM’s bid to dismiss the case.
#legal
Share
The Texas county judge presiding over a lawsuit about a fatal crash blamed on General Motors Co.’s defective ignition switches has rejected GM’s bid to dismiss the case.
GM argued on Monday that the lawsuit should be tossed out, claiming the plaintiff and his lawyer fabricated evidence shown to the jury about the key used in the 2007 Saturn Sky sport coupe that crashed.
When GM recalled 2.6 million cars in 2014 to replace their ignition switches, it told owners the devices could be jogged out of the “run” position by a heavily laden keychain. GM said the plaintiff in the Texas trial initially said the keychain holding the key for his car had only a few items on it. But the key shown to jurors came from another car and was attached to a keychain loaded down with weightier objects.
GM claimed the display was an attempt to bolster the plaintiff’s case. The plaintiff’s lawyer dismissed it as a “justifiable misunderstanding.”
County Judge Robert Schaffer rejected GM’s argument. But said he would instruct jurors that the key they were shown was not the one used when the car crashed.
The plaintiff says his crash, which killed another driver, was caused by the switch. GM contends the crash was due to the plaintiff’s reckless driving.
RELATED CONTENT
-
Tesla’s Autopilot Feature Deemed Partly to Blame in Fatal Crash
The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board has concluded that Tesla Inc.’s semi-autonomous Autopilot feature was partly to blame for a crash 15 months ago that killed one of the carmaker’s customers.
-
Bosch Targeted in Criminal Probe of VW Diesel Cheating in U.S.
Federal prosecutors in the U.S. are trying to determine whether Robert Bosch GmbH conspired to help Volkswagen AB—and perhaps other carmakers—rig their diesel engines to evade emission standards, sources tell Bloomberg News.
-
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.