With hundreds of plaintiffs seeking damages from GM over an acknowledged ignition switch defect in its vehicles, anticipation was high for the first of six bellwether trials(which would be used to test the merits of the lawsuits) when it came to court last week. But in an unexpected twist, the first plaintiffs — an Oklahoma postman and his wife who claimed that injuries he sustained, allegedly due to the ignition switch defect, ultimately cost them their home — dropped their case after it emerged in court that the couple had fabricated a check stub. The trial ended abruptly before the merits of the case could be weighed, leaving lingering uncertainty about how the case against GM will hold up in the remaining lawsuits.
No relevance to case merits
GM spokesperson James Cain commented that the automaker is 'pleased that the case is over without any payment whatsoever.' However, plaintiffs' attorney Derek Potts was quick to make clear that the dropped case should not be tallied as a win for GM, as the case had not progressed far enough to weigh the merits of the case. 'A win would be a defence verdict. The case was dropped because of a “collateral issue”,' Mr Potts said. His position was backed up by Centre for Automotive Safety executive director Clarence Ditlow: 'The purpose of these bellwethers is to test the legal theories. The allegations that the plaintiffs lied had nothing to do with merits,' he commented.
'An embarrassing retreat'
On Monday, Lance Cooper, the lawyer who first revealed the ignition switch flaw, filed a request to US District Judge Jesse Furman to remove co-lead counsels Robert Hilliard, Steve Berman and Elizabeth Cabraser from the helm of the large group of lawsuits. Labeling the collapsed first bellwether as 'an embarrassing retreat', Mr Cooper alleges that the dropped case was 'the culmination of a long series of poor decisions and mismanagement' on the part of the three attorneys. Sources: Bloomberg BNA; Bloomberg BNA (2)
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