Lawyers looking to sue General Motors Co. after its global recall of 1.6 million vehicles over an ignition defect may find their path blocked by a judge’s order five years ago in the company’s reorganization, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. Allegations about deaths or economic losses occurring before July 2009 were barred by a bankruptcy judge when he approved the sale of the automaker’s assets to the new GM. Attorneys are now examining pre-bankruptcy deaths and claims with a view to getting the ban lifted. Clarence Ditlow, executive director of the Washington-based Center for Auto Safety, said that he would like GM to set up a fund as a sign of goodwill. Such a move may resolve claims that deaths and injuries were tied to the faulty ignition switches, a problem GM admitted it knew of more than a decade ago and failed to fix. By court order, the new GM can’t be held responsible for any product-related liabilities, such as wrongful death, personal injury or property damage, except those arising on or after July 10, 2009, when the new entity was born. Challenging GM’s immunity would require asking the judge who oversaw the historic U.S.-backed bankruptcy to reconsider his ban on claims. The time to revoke court orders dating from GM’s bankruptcy “has long past,” said Harvey Miller of Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP, the automaker’s bankruptcy lawyer. He said that the company’s creditors diligently examined its liabilities and potential exposure for possible damage suits.
