After the ignition switch debacle that made nearly 2.6 million small cars potentially dangerous to drive, General Motors faces 79 lawsuits that total up to $10 billion in damages for affected owners.
The company has asked a judge to rule that it won't be responsible for damage claims that stem from actions prior to GM's 2009 bankruptcy, a regime now known as the "old GM," The Detroit News reported. This month, a panel of judges will rule whether or not the lawsuits should be combined into one as well as which federal court will handle the cases.
The automaker has been dealing with liability lawsuits connected with the defective ignition switches, which were installed in Chevrolet Cobalts and other small cars, for nearly a decade.
Since April 30, GM has been sued in 20 more class-action lawsuits in connection with the same faulty switches, according to a U.S. Bankruptcy Court filing, as reported by The Detroit News.
The 2.6 million-vehicle recall influenced a new bill brought forward on Tuesday by U.S. Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. The legislation would require federal judges to examine public health and safety factors prior to honoring a party's request to have court records sealed.
The bipartisan bill has been introduced in the wake of GM's settlements in the past decade connected with the ignition switches, the senators said.
"This legislation would have enabled people to be aware of the threats to safety posed by the faulty ignition switches and deaths could have been prevented," Blumenthal said in a statement quoted by The Detroit News.
GM has already agreed to pay a $35 million fine, the maximum allowable under law, following a federal investigation into why it took GM engineers so long to identify the ignition switch issue. The recall has been connected with dozens of crashes and at least 13 deaths. Federal regulators have shown evidence that GM was aware of the issue years before the problematic cars were recalled.
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