General Motors Class Action Lawsuit Filed Over Ignition Switch Recall

A class action lawsuit against General Motors has been filed by several Pennsylvania residents as a result of the recent ignition switch recall, alleging that the auto maker wrongfully concealed problems from vehicle owners for years, negatively impacting the value of their vehicles.  

The complaint (PDF) was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania on April 8, seeking class action status to include claims for all owners of vehicles impacted by the massive recall.

According to allegations raised in the GM ignition switch class action lawsuit, which was filed by Austin DePalma, Bob and Dorothy McCann, and Paul J. Pollastro, vehicle owners and federal safety regulators were misled by General Motors for years about the safety and quality of the vehicles.

In February, GM first announced it was recalling nearly 800,000 vehicles in the U.S. due to problems with ignition switches that could turn the vehicle off if jarred or if heavy keys were used in the ignition. This switches off the air bags, which fail to deploy when needed in an auto accident.

That recall has since been expanded to include more than 2.5 million vehicles worldwide, with GM admitting it knew about the ignition switch problem for years without acting.

A growing number of GM recall lawsuits are being filed in state and federal courts throughout the United States, including personal injury claims, wrongful death claims, investor lawsuits and other class actions over the diminished value of the vehicles.

While GM has indicated that at least 13 deaths may have occurred due to airbag failures caused by the faulty ignition switch, outside experts suggest that many more serious injuries and deaths appear to have occurred. A report by the Center for Automobile Safety suggested that more than 300 deaths have been reported to federal regulators following accidents involving some of the recalled vehicles where airbags failed to deploy.

According to allegations raised in the class action, GM has known about the problem and actively tried to conceal the issue by blaming incidents on driver error.

GM CEO Mary Barra went before congress twice last week to explain the company’s actions, testifying that she did not know why the recalls were not announced earlier, but promised to provide lawmakers with answers in the near future.

A congressional investigation also revealed that officials inside the NHTSA called for investigations into the problem twice since 2007, but were twice told there was no need by other officials in the agency.