GM Survives $1 Billion Fight With 'Old GM' Over Ignition Switch Claims But The Story's Getting Weird

Earlier this week, General Motors came out strong against a proposed $15 million settlement for thousands of claims related to the automaker’s ignition switch scandal, a weird scenario that pitted GM against “Old” GM. After duking it out in court, the settlement’s off the table, according to Bloomberg, meaning GM prevented having a provision triggered that would’ve required it to contribute $1 billion in stock.

But the story gets even weirder, according to the Bloomberg report. Initially, attorneys for Old GM—the name for the trust created as part of GM’s 2009 bankruptcy—signed off a complicated $15 million settlement that would’ve triggered a provision that required New GM to kick in $1 billion in stock.

GM called it a “contrived scheme” and said the trust was acting in “bad faith” by approving the settlement.

Now, lawyers for the plaintiffs say the trust conspired with GM to block the accord it approved only a few days prior. read more »

Read the filed letter from plaintiff's attorneys » 

U.S. too slow to require rear seat belt warnings lawsuit says

A new lawsuit accuses the U.S. government of being too slow to implement rules requiring that rear seat vehicle passengers be warned when they fail to buckle their seat belts.

In a complaint filed on Wednesday, two nonprofits said the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has done nothing to implement legislation signed in July 2012 by former President Barack Obama that required the warnings.

The Center for Auto Safety, and Kids and Cars Inc., said nearly 1,000 people are killed annually in the rear seats of U.S. passenger vehicles because they do not buckle up, and proper belt usage would lower the risk of death by 44 percent. read more »