An amended class action lawsuit has been filed against General Motors Co.that is seeking $10 billion from the American automaker for an ignition switch defect that has claimed at least 29 lives, if not more.

The GM ignition switch class action lawsuit was originally filed in March on the heels of the February ignition switch recall, but the $350 million case was later scrapped. Now, the amended GM ignition switch class action lawsuit will include all new and used GM vehicles sold from July 11, 2009, (when New GM emerged from bankruptcy) until July 3, 2014.

The GM class action lawsuit will represent 68 named plaintiffs (including a couple of used car dealers) residing in 40 different states and Washington D.C. The law firm spearheading the new case hopes to use these plaintiffs as examples to claim GM vehicles lost substantial value when General Motors attempted to assure buyers that their GM cars were “safe and reliable” under false pretenses.

The law firm also filed a second GM class action lawsuit involving older GM vehicles sold before the 2009 bankruptcy and new management that GM recently recalled due to the presence of the same ignition switch defect. The two class action lawsuits bring a total of 151 claims against General Motors and allege the automaker violated vehicle product warranties and also committed fraud in 50 states. The GM class action lawsuits also aim to demonstrate GM purposefully “concealed the existence of the defect,” and by doing so put millions of customers at risk.

According to the ignition switch class action lawsuit, GM did recall millions of cars, but only admitted to the defect  in the 2.2 million recalled cars in February. For the millions of other GM cars recalled, which may or may not have the ignition switch defect, the car company has cut new keys, refitted key fobs, and other quick fixes.

However, according to the class action lawsuit’s allegations, “New GM’s supposed fix does not address the defect or the safety risks that the defect poses. The real answer must include the replacement of all the switches with ones that have sufficient torque to resist foreseeable rotational forces.”

This is not the only group suing GM for the switch defect. Many individuals have already filed individual GM ignition switch lawsuits or have joined together with other consumers and filed class action lawsuits. [See how to join one of these GM class action lawsuits here.]

GM Ignition Switch Recall

According to the thousands of GM lawsuits and consumer claims filed during the 2014 year alone, many plaintiffs allege they or a loved one were severely and even fatally injured by a GM vehicle’s faulty ignition switch design.  While in drive, the ignition switch allegedly moves from the on to off position without warning, making the car difficult and dangerous to maneuver. With the car in off position, the safety features like airbag deployment allegedly will not work, leaving drivers and passengers at risk.

The recalled vehicles found to have the alleged ignition switch failure and are covered by GM compensation fund include:

• Chevrolet Cobalt, 2005-2010
• Chevrolet HHR, 2006-2011
• Pontiac Pursuit, 2003-2007
• Pontiac Solstice, 2006-2010
• Pontiac G5, 2007-2010
• Saturn Ion, 2003-2007
• Saturn Sky, 2007-2010
• Opel/Vauxhall GT, 2007-2010
• Daiwoo G2X, 2007-2009