Lawyers seek to have judge who oversaw Toyota sudden acceleration case for GM lawsuits

Dana Taschner, one of the lawyers who filed a class action lawsuit against Detroit, Michigan-based automaker General Motors Co., has stated they requested to have U.S. District Judge James Selna, the one who handled Toyota Motor Corp.’s acceleration cases, to also preside over GM’s case. The request was filed in conjunction with a consolidation petition with the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation in Washington, D.C.

The lawsuit was filed last Monday, March 31 in Santa Ana, California, and is asking for $250 for every American GM vehicle owner, which amounts to over $350 million, and is in addition to punitive damages sought as a result of GM’s failure to disclose information regarding its defective auto parts.

GM more than doubled its recall-related expenses to $750 million on March 31 due to power steering defects in 1.5 million other vehicles in the United States, aside from the other vehicles it has earlier recalled. The defect was traced to the faulty ignition switch, which can cause the engine to stall and prevent air bags from deploying. It has been connected to at least 13 deaths in auto accidents.

At Ritter & Associates, we fight for the rights of people in San Diego who have been harmed by auto defects. If you are dealing with the consequences of such an injury, call us at 619-296-0123 today.