General Motors Sees New Round Of Accusations On Ignition Switch Cover-Up From Texas Lawyer
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As General Motors prepares itself for possibly one of the largest penalties ever levied on an automaker,($1.2 billion or more) one Texas lawyer has surfaced with new accusations on GM over mishandling the ignition-switch fiasco.
A Texas lawyer representing owners of recalled GM vehicles has accused the automaker of conspiring with law firm King & Spalding to cover up evidence on ignition-switch deaths that has lead to the deaths an injuries of hundreds.
The global law firm, which helps defend GM from personal injury cases, is being accused of failing to share crucial information with plaintiffs’ attorneys on the ignition switch failure, according to The Detroit Free Press.
GM called the motion “largely a rehash of issues discussed publicly over a year ago.”
General Motors has already released a statement saying, “Moreover, GM already has produced to plaintiffs substantial amounts of privileged material, including many of the very communications sought in their current motion. We strongly deny the accusations in the motion and will file an appropriate response.”
U.S. bankruptcy Judge Robert Gerber ruled on April 15 that GM’s 2009 bankruptcy reorganization “protected it from lawsuits seeking compensation for lost value of vehicles recalled for the ignition switch defect.” The Texas lawyer is seeking an appeal of that verdict.
Thus far, the faulty ignition-switches have been linked to 111 deaths. Those who have taken GM’s compensation offering have waived their rights to suing the automaker.
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Many would love to see GM forced out of business with no regards as to what happens to jobs, but I can tell you that won’t happen. We all know lawyers are vultures with no regards to anyone, but themselves.
I just bought a 1985 Citation II. From a dealership in TN. VIN 1G1XX68X3FT104481. Where was this made and is it the last one ?
Yes the blood sucking lawyers will keep on this till they exhaust the money or the appeals.
We really need tort reform in this country and we need it now. Too many people really have no clue they are paying for all this no matter what make they buy.
Meaning GM passes-along the cost of obfuscating their defective products to their unsuspecting customers?
And burying more cost and accountability in layer upon layer of engineers, VPs, SVPs, EVPs, legal counsel and outside legal firms? And helping pay-off misbegotten plans like Chevy sponsoring Manchester United for $600m?
Yeah, you’re probably right. People have no idea what costs are buried in the cars they buy.
This is more of an industry issue, including the NHTSA. Many others covered up stuff from that same time period. Some are probably covering stuff up as we speak.
(Wait!?)
Didn’t the NHTSA also finally own up to having responsibility with this? They finally admitted it, after every money grabbing lawyer in the U.S. started going after GM. The NHTSA is just as guilty. What the public knows as a GM coverup with this, was indeed no coverup, because the NHTSA knew of the issue at least twice, and dropped the cases both times. It seems like the NHTSA would have expressed more concern, since they’re supposed to enforce vehicle safety. Evidence from multiple sources including a (bailout that the new founded company since 2009, has paid back), shows what kind of mess the old GM was in. Perhaps they really were disorganized, however, a second hand, the NHTSA studied it, and did nothing preventative. No one wants to try to sue a government agency like the NHTSA though.
Companies are made up of people and people screw up. The public is made up of people and they screw up. Then Lawyers come in and make everyone else pay for the mistakes of others and collect most of the money for them selves.
Today many times companies settle out of court in winnable cases just because it is cheaper to settle than fight. The legal fees are too much to defend yourself and settling limits cost. Many of these cases are groundless but yet still cost money.
Some folks love to hate corporations but if it were not for many corporations you would be living in a grass hut trying to survive some dieses.
Just like people on this web site Corporations are generally not bad. Sure they may make a mistake but we all do. And yes there are some that are bad just as there are some folks here I would not let on my property.
Sorry but life is made up of good and bad things and there are times you have to take some of the one to get the benefit of the other.
Yes your examples are part of the story but you also have to account for the person that goes after a company for money on non legitimate things like claiming they lost a loved one who crashed and burned in a vehicle when they hit a tree. They like to think that Drunk and hitting a tree at 100 MPH drunk had nothing to do with it. This was a true case and they were paid to settle because to win it would have been too much.
A Ford engineer said they do not make cars fool proof but idiot proof and I understand what meant.
I agree with what you’re saying. I also agree that people can mess up. I just think it’s hypocritical for the NHTSA to not be included with this. I’ve also seen that article before about the reckless driving, and that it’s easier to blame the car. I also believe there are some legitimate cases out there. I think GM knows that also, and I think they are handling this really well, whether its reckless driving or not . I think this is also a lesson for the industry to try and prevent this tragedy again. Not all lawyers are bad or corrupt either, in fact they’re doing their job, but people don’t realize the truths that you’ve pointed out.
I read that rental car companies were the canary in the Cobalt/Ion coal mine – inexplicable, sudden accidents with rental vehicles.
Can’t attest for the drivers’ various forms of ‘recklessness’ (as some often reference), but guessing that – as a rental – they didn’t have much more than a key and an Enterprise tag hanging from the ignition.
In any event, the rental companies’ observations and notices were pretty much ignored. Which brings us to today.
With lawyers die they are buried 65 feet underground. Because deep down they’re really nice.