Several plaintiffs who were consumers of General Motors (GM) filed a class action lawsuit for deaths and injuries resulting from a defect in ignition switches in GM vehicles. General Motors has recalled 2.6 million vehicles equipped with ignition switches that can unexpectedly shut off the engine. In turn, this GM ignition switch defect cuts power to the airbags, power steering, brakes, and other vital onboard equipment.

The class plaintiffs recently filed an amended complaint to add claims for racketeering in New York federal court, where more than 200 GM ignition switch lawsuits have been consolidated against General Motors for personal injury, wrongful death and falling car values. The GM class action lawsuit seeks more than $10 billion in damages.

The amended class action lawsuit now claims that General Motors conspired with a law firm that represents them and a claims management administration company to conceal information about the faulty GM ignition switches. The plaintiffs claim that General Motors, its outside law firm, and the claims management company all knew about the GM ignition switch defect but purposely kept it from private litigants and the public.

The plaintiffs are claiming that the combined actions of General Motors, its outside law firm, and the claims management company amount to an “unlawful enterprise” as defined in the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO).

GM spokesman James Cain said the complaint contained no new information and that the company looked forward to “setting the record straight in court.”

General Motors Ignition Switch Recall

In February 2014, General Motors recalled 2.6 million vehicles over the ignition switch defect, which can slip and cut power to vital vehicle systems. The GM recall includes the 2005-2010 Chevrolet Cobalt, 2007-2010 Pontiac G5, 2003-2007 Saturn Ion, 2006-2011 Chevrolet HHR, 2006-2010 Pontiac Solstice and 2007-2010 Saturn Sky vehicles.

The recall specifically targeted a defect in the design of the GM ignition switch which allowed the key to move from the “on” position to the “accessory” position, cutting the power to the vehicle, making the vehicle difficult to control and shutting down the airbags in some cases.

For a decade, General Motors and government safety regulators reportedly failed to address this defect and GM later admitted to knowing of the problem since 2004. The government has not brought any criminal charges against General Motors, although GM did pay a $35 million fine for not alerting the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHSTA) to the defective switches quickly enough.

GM Victims Compensation Fund

The company established a $550 million victims compensation fund to help the people and the families impacted by those vehicles, headed by lawyer Kenneth Feinberg. To date, the GM recall fund has paid claims for 114 deaths and 229 injuries.

In essence, the GM class action lawsuit contends that not only did General Motors actively engage in a cover up of the problem that led to the recall of 2.6 million small cars in 2014 and the deaths of over 100 people and injuries to hundreds more, but that it actually conspired to conceal this information.

The GM Ignition Switch Recall MDL is In re: General Motors LLC Ignition Switch Litigation, MDL No. 14-2543, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.