Attorneys from national consumer-rights law firm Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, representing plaintiffs in the class-action case against General Motors (NYSE:GM) today responded to a testimony delivered by G.M. CEO Mary Barra on April 1, 2014 to a subcommittee titled “The GM Ignition Switch Recall: Why Did It Take So Long?” regarding the safety recall of 2.6 million vehicles with ignition switch defects that have been linked to 12 fatalities and more than 300 crashes.
“When it comes down to it, G.M. handled this issue horribly, and today’s testimony is simply an extension of that ham-handed approach,” said Steve Berman, managing partner of Hagens Berman and lead attorney representing plaintiffs in a case against G.M. “It’s going to take a lot more than an apologetic testimony from G.M. to rebuild the trust from consumers in their company after this massive problem that has affected millions.”
The safety defect involves the car’s ignition, which according to consumers, can switch off while in operation, disabling airbags and other electrical features such as power steering and power brakes.
In a 144-page class-action suit filed March 26, 2014 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, Hagens Berman seeks to recover from G.M. minimum statutory damages of $250 for each owner, which alone totals more than $350 million and could go higher, along with punitive damages for the willful nondisclosure of critical safety information, on behalf of owners of affected vehicles. The recall, which has been expanded twice since February, now includes 2.6 million vehicles. G.M. has also issued a recall for vehicles affected by a power steering issue.
Hagens Berman, which recently settled the $1.6 billion case against Toyota, stated in the complaint that G.M. failed to alert consumers of the known risks they faced driving the vehicles, despite promising it would honor the federal reporting requirement of safety risks for all General Motors cars including assets purchased from the 2009 bankruptcy.
“As G.M. continues to expand its recall regarding ignition switch issues and other hazardous defects, it shows me that the company needs to treat its customers more honesty and with much greater transparency,” said Berman in response to the recent testimony from G.M. “It is our hope that through this litigation, consumers are made whole and that the outcome stands as a deterrent to prevent a similar situation.”
The firm seeks to represent all individuals who owned or leased a G.M. vehicle affected by the recall including: 2005-7 Chevrolet Cobalts and 2007 Pontiac G5 models, and last month extended the recall to include 2003-7 Saturn Ions, 2006-7 Chevrolet HHRs, 2006-7 Pontiac Solstice and 2007 Saturn Sky models. On March 28, 2014, the recall was expanded to include later models, including: 2008-10 Pontiac Solstice and G5 models, 2008-10 Saturn Sky models, 2008-10 Chevrolet Cobalts and 2008-11 Chevrolet HHRs.
According to published reports and government documents, G.M. had knowledge of the serious defect as early as 2001, but critics charge that the company ignored warnings of the defect’s severity and did not caution consumers.
The complaint states that under the Transportation Recall Enhancement, Accountability and Documentation (TREAD) Act and its accompanying regulations, the manufacturer must promptly inform the Secretary of Transportation when it learns that a vehicle contains a defect and if that defect is related to motor vehicle safety. Hagens Berman intends to prove that G.M. violated the TREAD Act and the Michigan Consumer Protection Act, and committed fraudulent concealment by failing to disclose the deadly ignition switch defects to the federal government and consumers.
Berman was appointed co-lead counsel representing Toyota owners, and in 2013 negotiated a $1.6 billion settlement on behalf of consumers who owned or leased Toyota vehicles implicated in a rash of cases of unintended acceleration.
Reports published in 2005 state that G.M. issued a service bulletin for some G.M. vehicles, telling dealers to warn drivers to remove “unnecessary items from their key chains,” a warning that was extended a year later to a broader range of G.M. vehicles. Reports also state that G.M. said that it corrected the problem in new cars starting in 2007.
The suit seeks to award affected consumers the greater of actual or statutory damages under consumer-protection laws, along with other damages for owners of vehicles with ignition switch safety defects, and punitive damages.
Concerned consumers who have owned or leased any of the affected G.M. models during the affected period are encouraged to contact a Hagens Berman attorney by emailing GeneralMotors@HBSSlaw.com or calling 206-623-7292. Additional information about the investigation is available at www.hbsslaw.com/GM.
Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP is a consumer-rights law firm with offices in nine cities. The firm represents investors, whistleblowers, workers and consumers in complex litigation. More about the Hagens Berman and its successes can be found at www.hbsslaw.com.
Contacts:
Mark Firmani, 206-443-9357
mark@firmani.com
