General Motors Co. sought a rehearing of an appeals court ruling that exposes it to hundreds of potential lawsuits and some $10 billion in liabilities from faulty ignition switches, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Lawyers for the nation’s largest auto maker on Wednesday said that the court made two “fundamental errors” when it last month ruled against the company’s efforts to use its 2009 bankruptcy to shield itself from the litigation over the ignition switches. GM said the court’s decision, if not reversed, would permanently damage the bankruptcy process that saved it from collapse in 2009. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit last month denied GM’s attempt to use its bankruptcy to block lawsuits seeking potential claims over the defective ignition switches, which have been linked to 124 deaths. The ruling overturned a bankruptcy judge’s earlier decision to bar claims that arose before its chapter 11 filing. Read more. (Subscription required.)
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