In the GM ignition switch recall lawsuits, a critical piece of evidence released in April may have serious implications for an upcoming step of the litigation.

Several individual GM ignition switch lawsuits within the larger GM multidistrict litigation have made the allegation that a company affiliated with GM was aware that air bags would not deploy in accidents caused by the GM ignition switch defect.

According to those GM lawsuits, Continental Automotive Systems was aware of the risks associated with the problem. Until that was discovered, most of the legal action over the GM ignition switch defect was focused on General Motors alone.

The legal action stems from a defect that eventually led to a recall of more than 2.5 million General Motors vehicles, including Saturn, Pontiac, and Chevrolet. According to GM ignition switch lawsuits, the ignition circuit could easily flip from “on” to “auxiliary” while driving. This would cause the car’s engine to shut down — and the airbag control systems to deactivate. This led to numerous accidents, including an unknown number of fatalities in the decades between the recall and the first reports of problems. In several accidents, data from onboard electronic systems have been recovered that indicate the ignition circuitry switched into the auxiliary mode seconds before fatal accidents.

When it was first revealed that Continental might find itself involved in the GM ignition switch lawsuits, a company spokesman insisted that its airbag control units were designed “in accordance to meet the customer specifications.”

GM has found itself under intense scrutiny, both from the legal system and government investigators. Senate hearings have been held on the matter, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has asked Congress to raise the amount it could fine GM. GM’s own internal investigators stated that various individuals in the company had been aware of the problem, but it took more than a decade for the company to issue recalls due to a widespread “culture of incompetence” within the company.

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