Obama Fails At Business Too!
2014-06-15 00:00:01 UTC
http://www.king5.com/news/business/262809791.html
DETROIT (AP) Lawyers for a Georgia family that is trying to
reopen a wrongful death lawsuit against General Motors say the
company is trying to move the case to federal court so it can
use bankruptcy as a shield from the claim.
The lawyers, Lance Cooper and Jere Beasley, said Wednesday in a
statement that GM's court filings run counter to a promise made
by GM CEO Mary Barra to fairly compensate families of people
killed or those injured in crashes caused by defective ignition
switches.
GM spokesman Greg Martin called the company's filings procedural.
A federal bankruptcy judge in New York ruled in 2009 that the
new GM is shielded from claims stemming from cars made before
the company emerged from bankruptcy protection. Instead, the
claims go against the old GM, which has limited assets. The
judge now is being asked to decide if he will allow claims
against the new company.
Cooper and Beasley say moving the case to federal court would
allow the company to use the bankruptcy to send claims to the
old GM.
Ken and Beth Melton sued GM three years ago in Cobb County,
Georgia, in the death of their daughter, Brooke Melton, in 2010.
The 29-year-old nurse died when her 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt
skidded on a county road, hit another car and ended up in a
creek.
The lawsuit alleged that Brooke Melton, a pediatric nurse, was
killed after the Cobalt lost power due to a faulty ignition
switch, causing her to lose control of the car. The Meltons
settled the case last September, but Cooper and Beasley filed a
lawsuit in May seeking to set aside the settlement and reopen
the case, alleging that GM fraudulently concealed evidence.
Research by Cooper's firm and depositions in the original
lawsuit exposed a GM engineer's move to fix the defective
switches and conceal his actions.
GM ended up recalling 2.6 million older small cars starting in
February to fix the switches, which the company says have caused
54 crashes and at least 13 deaths. GM acknowledged that it
waited more than 10 years to recall the cars.
A report from an outside attorney hired by GM blamed the delay
on a dysfunctional corporate structure and misconduct or poor
decisions by some employees. The attorney's report also
indicates that the Meltons' case was settled for $5 million.
The case has brought investigations from Congress and the
Justice Department. Also, GM has agreed to pay a $35 million
fine to the government's road safety agency. The automaker has
hired attorney Kenneth Feinberg to come up with a method of
compensating victims.
Feinberg said last week that a compensation plan is weeks away.
So far, GM has announced or taken charges of $1.7 billion to
cover the cost of the ignition switch and dozens of other
recalls.
DETROIT (AP) Lawyers for a Georgia family that is trying to
reopen a wrongful death lawsuit against General Motors say the
company is trying to move the case to federal court so it can
use bankruptcy as a shield from the claim.
The lawyers, Lance Cooper and Jere Beasley, said Wednesday in a
statement that GM's court filings run counter to a promise made
by GM CEO Mary Barra to fairly compensate families of people
killed or those injured in crashes caused by defective ignition
switches.
GM spokesman Greg Martin called the company's filings procedural.
A federal bankruptcy judge in New York ruled in 2009 that the
new GM is shielded from claims stemming from cars made before
the company emerged from bankruptcy protection. Instead, the
claims go against the old GM, which has limited assets. The
judge now is being asked to decide if he will allow claims
against the new company.
Cooper and Beasley say moving the case to federal court would
allow the company to use the bankruptcy to send claims to the
old GM.
Ken and Beth Melton sued GM three years ago in Cobb County,
Georgia, in the death of their daughter, Brooke Melton, in 2010.
The 29-year-old nurse died when her 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt
skidded on a county road, hit another car and ended up in a
creek.
The lawsuit alleged that Brooke Melton, a pediatric nurse, was
killed after the Cobalt lost power due to a faulty ignition
switch, causing her to lose control of the car. The Meltons
settled the case last September, but Cooper and Beasley filed a
lawsuit in May seeking to set aside the settlement and reopen
the case, alleging that GM fraudulently concealed evidence.
Research by Cooper's firm and depositions in the original
lawsuit exposed a GM engineer's move to fix the defective
switches and conceal his actions.
GM ended up recalling 2.6 million older small cars starting in
February to fix the switches, which the company says have caused
54 crashes and at least 13 deaths. GM acknowledged that it
waited more than 10 years to recall the cars.
A report from an outside attorney hired by GM blamed the delay
on a dysfunctional corporate structure and misconduct or poor
decisions by some employees. The attorney's report also
indicates that the Meltons' case was settled for $5 million.
The case has brought investigations from Congress and the
Justice Department. Also, GM has agreed to pay a $35 million
fine to the government's road safety agency. The automaker has
hired attorney Kenneth Feinberg to come up with a method of
compensating victims.
Feinberg said last week that a compensation plan is weeks away.
So far, GM has announced or taken charges of $1.7 billion to
cover the cost of the ignition switch and dozens of other
recalls.