GM Must Face Suit Claiming it Covered Up Ignition-Switch Defect
General Motors Co has lost its bid to dismiss a lawsuit accusing the automaker of concealing critical evidence about a faulty ignition switch linked to the death of a Georgia woman in 2010, reported Reuters. During a hearing on Saturday, Cobb County State Court Judge Kathryn Tanksley denied GM’s motion to dismiss the new lawsuit ... Read More »
General Motors Co has lost its bid to dismiss a lawsuit accusing the automaker of concealing critical evidence about a faulty ignition switch linked to the death of a Georgia woman in 2010, reported Reuters.
During a hearing on Saturday, Cobb County State Court Judge Kathryn Tanksley denied GM’s motion to dismiss the new lawsuit filed in May by the family of Brooke Melton, according to a statement from the company.
Melton died in March 2010 when the ignition switch on her 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt slipped into accessory mode and the car collided with another vehicle, according to the suit.
Ken and Beth Melton, her parents, had previously sued the company in 2011 and settled in September 2013 for a reported $5 million.
Information that emerged during the original lawsuit – including a design change to the switch – helped trigger the recall of 2.6 million GM vehicles, including the Cobalt, and prompted congressional, federal and other investigations into whether the company had withheld knowledge of the problem.
After the recall, the Meltons said they asked GM to withdraw the settlement, but the company refused, according to court filings. The family then filed a new lawsuit in May claiming that the company had fraudulently concealed critical evidence about the switch, and that a GM engineer who testified in the case had lied under oath about the part.
The Meltons’ lawsuit said that the company had purposely misled them in order to force them to settle their case.
GM had argued that the case should be dismissed because it had already settled the Meltons’ claims over Brooke Melton’s death. But Tanksley said on Saturday that the case could move forward, according to GM.
The company said it was disappointed in the decision and continued to believe the lawsuit was blocked by terms of the 2013 settlement. “GM will review the court’s order once it is entered and will evaluate its options,” spokesman Pat Morrissey said in an email.
A lawyer for the Meltons, Lance Cooper, said the ruling would enable discovery to proceed.
“This will allow the Meltons to finally get the answers to their questions of who at GM knew about the defects in Brooke’s car, why she was never told about the design change with the ignition switch and who participated in the decision to conceal evidence during their previous case.”
The Meltons’ lawsuit is among dozens to hit the automaker in the wake of several GM switch-related recalls this year, including claims for injuries or deaths linked to faulty ignition switches, as well as customers who say their cars lost value as a result of the recalls.
The company on Aug. 1 began accepting claims for a program to compensate serious injuries and deaths in accidents tied to defective switches in the Cobalt, the Saturn Ion and related models.
Although the program is accepting claims from people who previously settled crash lawsuits against the company, lawyers for the Meltons have previously told Reuters that they intend to pursue their case in court.
More Industry

Pennsylvania Dealership Under New Retailers
The sale of the Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram store puts a family auto group on a leaner path as first-time dealers take the helm.
Read More →
Battery Storage Takes Priority Over EVs
U.S. automakers are prioritizing battery energy stationary storage over electric-vehicle production as the consumer demand for EVs lags the rest of the world.
Read More →
Auto Dealers Feel Better But Not Great
A second-quarter Cox Automotive poll of franchised retailers and independents found better views of the current market after a good spring but anticipation of third-quarter storminess.
Read More →
New-Vehicle Sales Picture Relative
A May forecast is complicated by last spring’s trade tariff effects on auto retail. Despite continued hard realities, many consumers took advantage of ways to bite the bullet.
Read More →
Auto Group Acquires Third Nissan Rooftop
Iowa-based Coleman Automotive Group recently acquired its seventh dealership, McGrath Nissan, which it renamed Nissan of Elgin.
Read More →
April Less Affordable
Based on prices, reduced incentives and slower household income growth, consumers found it more challenging to buy new last month, Cox Automotive reported.
Read More →
Building an Extraordinary F&I Agency
Work to determine your specialized talent, because that fact will determine everything about your agency’s future.
Read More →
Recipe for Compliance
The secret to both amazing barbecue and compliance is the same: understanding the basics and committing to a process.
Read More →
EVs Getting More Attractive
A growing percentage of U.S. consumers are open to switching and fewer are adverse to the idea, according to a recently completed survey. That’s despite the end of a tax break.
Read More →
EV Sales Drop in April Following Surge
North American electric-vehicle sales were down 28% year-over-year, a sharp contrast from global EV sales growth of 6%.
Read More →