First NYC trial starts in GM ignition switch recall case

A closely watched civil trial over damages related to faulty GM ignition switches is set to kick off in NY on Monday.

A jury was selected Monday for a Manhattan civil trial aimed at testing the legal boundaries of hundreds of claims remaining against General Motors over faulty ignition switches.

The six planned trials were scheduled over the next year to narrow legal issues in lawsuits. The lawsuit also alleges the switch affected power-steering and braking when it slipped from the run position.

In the lawsuit, plaintiff Robert Scheuers claims he was injured when his 2003 Saturn Ion ran off the highway, became airborne and then struck the ground and trees in May 2014. The jury’s reaction to the evidence could push either side to settle – or battle out – hundreds of other cases and help set the size of any settlements.

The carmaker, which has already paid more than $2 billion to resolve investigations, a securities lawsuit and injury claims, now faces at least 16 trials on death and injury claims in state and federal courts in the U.S.in 2016.

 In February 2014, GM began recalling 2.6 million vehicles which suffered the fault that caused engines to stall and prevented airbags from deploying.

GM sought to dismiss Scheuer’s case, arguing, among other points, that it is shielded from much litigation over the ignition defect because the defect arose from actions of “Old GM” prior to its 2009 bankruptcy. The company admitted it failed to disclose to regulators that it was aware of a flaw and “falsely represented to consumers that vehicles containing the defect posed no safety concern”. Scheuer’s air bag did not deploy and he said his injuries left him with ongoing neck and back pain.

General Motors spokesman Jim Cain says air bags operated properly given the nature of the crash. More than 1,300 cars caught fire after they were fixed by dealers, the company said.