General Motors said on Tuesday (22 April) it has asked a bankruptcy court in New York to rule on whether the growing number of lawsuits alleging purely economic damages resulting from the ignition switch recall may proceed.
The motion does not concern accidents or injuries, the automaker said in an emailed statement.
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“As the motion states clearly, it ‘does not address any litigation involving an accident or incident causing personal injury, loss of life or property damage.'”
“Further, the motion ‘does not involve whether New GM should repair the ignition switch defect. New GM has committed to replacing the defective ignition switch as a result of the recall. The lawsuits that are the subject of this motion, most of which purport to be class actions, are brought by or on behalf of individuals who were not injured as the result of any failure of the ignition switch,'” GM said.
It added: “General Motors has taken responsibility for its actions and will keep doing so. GM has also acknowledged that it has civic and legal obligations relating to injuries that may relate to recalled vehicles, and it has retained Kenneth Feinberg to advise the company what options may be available to deal with those obligations.”
Earlier, the automaker filed a motion to enforce an injunction contained in its sale order which GM said bars plaintiffs from suing the reorganised company for any claims related to its predecessor.
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By GlobalData“May New GM be sued in violation of this Court’s Sale Order and Injunction for economic damages relating to vehicles and parts sold by Old GM?” Reuters cited the company as asking in a filing on Monday in the same bankruptcy court.
The news agency noted that GM emerged from bankruptcy protection in 2009 as a different legal entity than ‘old GM’. Under those terms, ‘new GM’ shed liability for incidents predating its exit from bankruptcy, and any lawsuits related to pre-bankruptcy issues must be brought against what remains of old GM.
GM reportedly asked the court to direct the plaintiffs to cease and desist from further prosecuting against new GM claims that are barred by the sale order and injunction, and also dismiss with prejudice the earlier claims as they violated the sale order.
The plaintiffs also filed a lawsuit on Monday to obtain an order declaring that GM cannot use the sale order to absolve itself of any liability from the plaintiffs’ defect claims, Reuters added.
