By Robert J. Boumis  |  August 6, 2014

Category: Consumer News

GM ignition switch recall class action lawsuitA new GM lawsuit has been filed, alleging that GM representatives lied in court during a lawsuit over a young woman’s death.

The GM lawsuit was filed by Ken and Beth Melton, who had previously sued the company over the death of their daughter, who died in a crash allegedly linked to the GM recall over a defective ignition switch.

The new GM lawsuit states that several GM officials lied to cover up their liability in the wrongful death lawsuit. The young woman in question died in a Chevy Cobalt, one of the GM cars eventually recalled over ignition switch problems.

GM is facing dozens of class action lawsuits over problems with their ignition switches. Allegedly, the defect can create potentially deadly problems with their cars.

According to the various GM lawsuits and federal investigations, the ignition switches on some GM vehicles can accidentally slip into a standby mode while a car is driving. This could power down the engine while driving, making a car suddenly slow to a stop in the middle of traffic.

Additionally, putting the ignition circuit in this configuration could also deactivate the vehicle’s airbags, making any accidents that do happen even more dangerous. The GM ignition switch recall was issued for more than 2.6 million vehicles, many of which had been on the road for years.

According to the text of the Meltons’ GM lawsuit, the engineer in charge of designing the Chevy Cobalt ignition switches testified that he was not aware of any changes to the design of the ignition switches in a statement made under oath to the court. Other officials from GM backed the engineer’s statement.

However, General Motors has come under massive scrutiny over their allegedly defective ignition switches. According to an investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, several GM officials made statements that indicated the company was aware of changes made to the critical ignition switch.

The Meltons’ new GM ignition switch lawsuit alleges that the company deliberately concealed these changes to avoid the full brunt of the earlier GM lawsuit. A GM spokesman has issued a denial that they deliberately and fraudulently concealed these issues in relation to the Melton lawsuit.

The Melton GM lawsuit states that they would not have settled their earlier 2013 lawsuit had GM officials not concealed these critical facts in sworn testimony. At least two other GM lawsuits are in a similar situation, with surviving family members scrambling to overturn earlier GM settlements on the grounds that GM concealed these issues in their cases as well.

The GM Ignition Switch Lawsuit is Melton, et al. v. General Motors, Case No. 14A1197-4, in the State Court of Cobb County, Georgia.

In general, GM recall lawsuits are filed individually by each plaintiff and are not class actions.

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