Lawyers warn GM of punitive risk if ignition defect customers go to trial

The lawyers for beleaguered automaker General Motors Co has advised their client about going to trial with customers over its defective ignition switches. Bloomberg said that the company's defense team is seeking for a settlement with the myriad of lawsuits filed against the automaker as oppose to paying for punitive damages.

GM is reportedly dealing with new and revived claims over injuries and deaths as a result of the car defects as it has expressed its intention to help victims of the accidents caused by the failed ignition switches.

Professor Peter Penning at Wayne State University Law School in Detroit, who has written about the automaker's litigation, said about the new lawsuits, "I suspect the amount to settle those cases went up significantly after the report's release."

According to a report by investigator Anton Valukas, an injury case brought by attorney Lance Cooper was settled by GM for $5 million in September after an adviser had warned the company of a significant adverse verdict should the jury had known that the company knew the defect for nine years without taking action.

Philip Holladay of King & Spalding, GM's outside law firm, told the company last year, "(The delay would be taken as proof of GM's indifference and) willful misconduct when it comes to the safety of its vehicles' occupants. This case needs to be settled."

The Valukas report also revealed that a minimum of four cases since 2010 involved advice from outside lawyers who have told GM that the jury might grant substantial or punitive damages to accident victims if word about the defect and the company's inaction would be made known to jurors.

The Valukas report was commissioned by the automaker to review its handling of the ignition switch defect, Bloomberg reported.

Cooper has reportedly revised the lawsuit in Georgia and is now accusing GM of hiding long-running concerns over the car defects.

Tags

General Motors Co, General Motors Co recall, Valukas report findings

© 2023 Lawyer Herald All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.