Judge Rules GM Shielded From Pre-Bankruptcy Litigation

2014 was called the year of the recall. During much of the year GM was under scrutiny by the NHTSA, Congress and the media. Much of the outcry surrounded their ignition switch recall. Several vehicle models made by General Motors were subject to recall since some of the faulty vehicles were blamed for around 200 deaths. However, a recent ruling will take some of the potential accountability for the deaths and serious injuries off of GM.

A U.S. bankruptcy judge, Robert Gerber, ruled today that he would uphold the original GM bankruptcy plan, which will shield the automaker from some lawsuit related to incidents, which may have occurred under the “old GM.” While some lawsuits will continue to move forward, this ruling confirms that some of the lawsuits, which occurred before their bankruptcy, will be thrown out. This ruling means GM will potentially avoid billions in damages and litigation from 2009 pre-bankruptcy era legal actions.

The attorney in charge of the compensation fund for GM, Kenneth Feinberg confirmed to the media this week that 84 deaths are officially tied to the faulty ignition switch. This ruling comes as GM hopes to distance itself from 2014 and focus on the development of new technology and new vehicles in 2015.