Another ignition-switch case against GM dismissed

[April 09, 2016]  By Nate Raymond
 
 (Reuters) - General Motors Co <GM.N> said on Friday that plaintiffs' lawyers suing over a faulty ignition switch linked to nearly 400 injuries and deaths have chosen to dismiss what was scheduled to be the fourth in a series of six test trials over the defect.

The decision came a day after GM settled what was to be the third lawsuit to go to trial and followed a win for the automaker a week ago in the first of the so-called bellwether trials to reach a verdict.

The switch can slip out of place, causing engines to stall and cutting power to the brake, steering and air bag systems. GM has admitted some employees knew about the problems for years, and has paid about $2 billion in settlements and penalties over the defect.

The bellwether trials are intended to help GM and the plaintiffs define settlement options in 234 injury and death lawsuits consolidated in Manhattan federal court.

The fourth case set for trial was brought by Robert Reid, an Alabama resident suing over injuries he sustained in a 2013 accident. But in a filing in federal court in Manhattan on Friday, GM and his lawyers said the case would be dismissed.

A GM spokesman said there was no settlement as part of the dismissal. The trial in the case had been scheduled to begin on July 18.

"We were prepared to try the case and show that the ignition switch did not cause or contribute to the accident, and we are pleased that the case is being dismissed with prejudice," GM said.

A lawyer for Reid did not respond to requests for comment.

GM on Thursday said it had agreed to settle what would have been the third case scheduled for trial, a lawsuit over the 2013 death of James Yingling following a car crash.

The Yingling case, set for trial on May 2, was one of three cases picked by lawyers representing plaintiffs to be a subject of one of the six test trials. The Reid case was a GM pick.

The case is In re General Motors Ignition Switch Litigation, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, No. 14-2543.

(Reporting by Nate Raymond in New York,; additional reporting by Arunima Banerjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Matthew Lewis)

[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.