Attorney Requests Judge Rescind GM Ignition Switch Settlement
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Just when it appeared that all of the ugliness surrounding General Motors and their now infamous Delphi ignition switch recall appeared to be over with, it appears the embattled automaker might not be out of the woods yet. On January 27, a Manhattan judge was asked to to rescind approval of a pending settlement fund that would have resolved some 1,380 lawsuits claiming faulty ignition switches in GM vehicles caused injury or death.
Georgia Attorney Lance Cooper, the litigator who first exposed the switch issue, recently asked U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman to stop the deal from going through because he believes that GM Attorney Robert Hilliard used a "private and secretive settlement process" to cut a deal that greatly benefited he and his clients.
Cooper's filing claims Hilliard did not make an effort to include the plaintiffs he did not represent in the settlement, nor their attorneys. Because of this, it will now be a much more difficult fight for those victims to get compensation from GM. He also requested that Furman remove Hilliard and two other lawyers from leadership positions because they mishandled the case.
Once a kingpin of the American auto industry, GM recalled around 30 million cars since 2014, including the Chevy Cobalt, the Chevy Cruze, the Pontiac G5 (a Cobalt variant), and the Saturn Ion because of these faulty switches. But the recalls expanded beyond the faulty switches and it seemed like GM recalled their entire lineup for some faulty part or malfunctioning safety feature.
Reuters said that Hilliard has denied Cooper's claims and could not be reached for comment. GM also refused to comment.
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