General Motors Found Liable In First Verdict Over Ignition Switch Defect

A U.S. jury found General Motors liable on March 30 for a defective ignition switch that prompted the recall of millions of vehicles, but declined to award any damages to two people who said they were injured in a car accident caused by the defect.

The verdict in a two-week trial in Manhattan federal court is the first involving an accident blamed on the switch. Dionne Spain and Lawrence Barthelemy said they have suffered back pain and other injuries when a faulty switch in Spain's 2007 Saturn Sky slipped out of position and caused it to crash, while GM said the accident was minor and the result of slippery roads.

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