The United States Supreme Court has rejected an appeal by General Motors which sought to shield it from lawsuits regarding the company’s massive ignition switch recall.
As The Detroit News reports, the Supreme Court refused to overturn a lower court ruling which determined the company’s bankruptcy didn’t protect it from lawsuits involving deaths and injuries caused by faulty ignition switches in millions of vehicles. The decision could have huge repercussions as lawyers for the plaintiffs are seeking as much as $10 billion.
The Supreme Court declined to say why it wouldn’t hear the case but the lower court ruling determined the company was liable for injuries, deaths, and lower vehicle resale values because the automaker knew about the problem for more than a decade and didn’t inform lawyers during the bankruptcy process.
In a statement, GM spokesman Jim Cain said “The Supreme Court’s decision was not a decision on the merits, and it’s likely that the issues we raised will have to be addressed in the future in other venues because the Second Circuit’s decision departed substantially from well-settled bankruptcy law.”
GM has already paid approximately $2.5 billion in fines and compensation but those numbers will likely climb.
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