General Motors Co. yesterday won a court ruling that could reduce the private litigation it faces over flawed vehicle ignition switches, which have been linked to 124 deaths and triggered a big recall, Reuters reported. U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman in Manhattan said the plaintiffs in two bellwether cases, involving accidents where airbags had deployed, could not introduce expert testimony to show how defective ignition switches might have played a role in the crashes. The plaintiffs said their GM ignition switches might have rotated from “run” at the moment of impact to “accessory” or “off,” causing the accidents or making them worse, and then back to “run” before the airbags deployed.
