GM Ignition-Switch Suit Dismissed

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Source: The Wall Street Journal.

GM Ignition-Switch Suit Dismissed

Dismissal follows uncovering of evidence suggesting the consumer bringing the suit had committed fraud

By Mike Spector and Sara Randazzo
[email protected]
@MikeSpectorWSJ
[email protected]
@sara_randazzo

Updated Jan. 22, 2016 10:07 a.m. ET

A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit against General Motors Co. over a defective ignition switch, dealing a setback to consumers still seeking damages from the Detroit auto maker for the safety lapse.

U.S. Judge Jesse Furman on Friday accepted a deal between GM and plaintiffs’ lawyers to dismiss the case after the car maker uncovered evidence suggesting the consumer bringing the suit had committed fraud. Plaintiff’s’ lawyers voluntarily dismissed the case as part of an agreement with GM in an order the judge signed early Friday. ... The case was the first of six suits scheduled for trial this year aimed at setting patterns for settlements in litigation consolidated in a New York federal court.

Robert Scheuer, 49 years old, had sued GM alleging a defective ignition switch disabled the air bags in his 2003 Saturn Ion during a May 2014 crash in Oklahoma. The car is among roughly 2.6 million older vehicles GM recalled in early 2014 for a faulty ignition switch that can slip out of the run position, cutting power to the engine and safety features including air bags.

The case turned when a Realtor contacted GM with evidence suggesting Mr. Scheuer doctored a check stub when attempting to purchase a house in the weeks after the crash. The Realtor contacted GM earlier this month after hearing a news report about the case on the radio, GM said in court papers.

Read more: http://www.wsj.com/articles/gm-ignition-switch-suit-dismissed-1453473564

[harun]

1. What a misleading headline

One guy settled, that is it.

The other suits are going forward and GM is still on the hook for their fraud.

[Attorney in Texas]

2. This is a heartbreaking betrayal of trust. The lawyers who pushed this case to the front of the line

of consumer-safety claims to be tried against GM did a grave disservice to every one of the countless Americans who were killed, maimed, deprived of a family member, or ripped off by GM.

This miscarriage of justice is a result of greed by those who owed a duty to all the GM claimants but who cherry-picked this case to try first because it benefited the lawyers who signed up these specific clients. This choice violated the trust of all the other GM claimants who have righteous claims.

Our justice system is broken as it applies to individual cases which are lumped together and disposed of as a group with other cases that have less merit.

As consumers, we have the right to to shop at a retail store for the exact product we need or we can choose to shop at a warehouse and get a mediocre product in bulk. We deserve at least as much consumer rights when purchasing legal services.