- Chevy Bolt lawsuit settlement was finalized after battery recalls.
- Only 31 plaintiffs were named in the consolidated class action.
- Each of those plaintiffs will receive just $2,000 in settlement.
The Chevrolet Bolt was meant to be GM’s answer to affordable EVs aimed at ushering mainstream drivers into the electric era. Instead, it became a cautionary tale, plagued by multiple battery-related recalls and a series of fire risks that tarnished its legacy before it ever had a chance to deliver on its promise.
GM has now reached a settlement in a major class action lawsuit over the Bolt’s issues, but the real beneficiaries aren’t necessarily the people who bought the car and sued the carmaker.
Read: New Chevy Bolt Is Back But Costs Thousands More Than The Leaf
Several class actions were filed against GM after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) started investigating reports of battery-related fires involving the Bolt in late 2020. A judge ultimately consolidated these lawsuits into a single class action, which has now been granted final approval for settlement.
Who Gets What
The settlement, originally announced in 2024, states that owners of eligible Bolt models who did not participate in GM’s 2023 compensation program, which offered a $1,400 Visa eRewards card, will now receive that same amount. In addition, former owners or lessees who qualified for a Chevy software update but sold their car or ended their lease before June 13, 2023, will be entitled to $700.
In addition, each of the 31 plaintiffs named in the consolidated class action will receive $2,000. As far as class action lawsuit settlements go, particularly for ones related to defects as significant as this one, the payout seems very small. That’s until you factor in what the lawyers will receive.
Legal Fees Eclipse Customer Payouts
The attorneys representing the plaintiffs will receive a handsome $52.5 million for their work on the case. We suspect some may be tempted to use this money to help ring in the New Year in style, or perhaps bosses may hand out some hefty bonuses to the attorneys involved in the case.
Wherever this money goes, it’s a shame that only $62,000 is going to GM customers who were directly impacted by the Bolt’s battery issues.
