Presiding over the all federal General Motors (GM) ignition switch lawsuits, U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman has officially announced the initial discovery plan that will begin to move forward with all the GM lawsuits filed. The multidistrict litigation (MDL) or mass tort cases are centered in the U.S. District of Southern New York, and are now waiting to be processed.

On September 10, Judge Furman ordered that GM and Delphi Automotive Systems are to turn over all the relevant, non-privileged documents the company gave to Congress and the federal National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) regarding the recent recalls, in order to be used in the upcoming GM ignition switch lawsuit trials.

The companies have until October 2 to submit all required documentation, which includes papers given to independent investigator Anton Valukas. Valukas determined that a “pattern of incompetence” led to GM failing to recall defective vehicles for more than a decade.

In a separate preservation of parts order issued on September 3, Judge Furman indicated that the parties must retain and preserve all evidence from the recalled vehicles including: ignition switch parts, impact air bag wiring harnesses, power steering motors, and other relevant objects. As the GM recall lawsuits are in the early stages, Judge Furman has scheduled additional status conferences for October 2, November 6, December 15, and Jan. 9, 2015.

Overview of GM Recall Litigation Movement

In June, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) established the coordinated proceedings for all GM ignition switch lawsuits filed against automaker, which are now all centralized before Judge Furman in a New York federal court.

All GM recall lawsuits involved in the MDL pertain to a design flaw of the ignition switches of certain Chevrolet, Saturn and Pontiac vehicles. These GM ignition switch lawsuits were consolidated into a MDL to reduce the chance of duplicate discovery, to avoid conflicting rulings from different judges, and to further serve the convenience of both parties and the courts.

The ignition switch defect discussed in this article pertains to the numerous injury and death reports that describe the weight of key chains causing the key in the ignition switch to turn, causing the car and its safety features to turn off.

This complication has been cited in hundreds of automobile accidents across the nation, saying that the airbags and other safety features had failed to deploy in the case of the unfortunate occurrences because of the defect.

According to the latest update provided by the JPML on August 15, approximately 100 additional GM lawsuits were transferred into the MDL, within the first two months the MDL was established.

However, legal experts from both the defense and plaintiff sides, expect that several thousand GM ignition switch lawsuits may eventually be centralized under Judge Furman, due to how widespread this issue has become.

GM has admitted that at least 16 deaths and more than 60 accidents may be linked to the defective ignition switches.

However, federal investigators, consumer watchdog groups, and even several GM officials, have indicated that the number is likely to increase as the investigation continues. Much of that information is expected to be revealed during the discovery proceedings.

GM has already agreed to provide compensation to all victims who were injured by their defective vehicles, stating that a settlement fund has already been established for these cases. This settlement is meant for people who suffered injuries and deaths among drivers or passengers who suffered in one of the recalled vehicles, as well as pedestrians and occupants of other vehicles involved in accidents with the affected cars.

According to legal records, family members of more than 100 victims filed wrongful death claims with the settlement fund, in the first month alone.

The GM Ignition Switch MDL is In Re: General Motors LLC Ignition Switch Litigation, Case No. 1:14-mc-02543, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.