Court ruling opens door to more GM ignition switch lawsuits

DETROIT (AP) — A federal appeals court has decided that people injured in crashes caused by faulty General Motors Co. ignition switches can sue the company even if they were hurt before GM's 2009 bankruptcy filing.

The ruling Wednesday by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan overturns most of that decision and allows hundreds of pre-bankruptcy claims to proceed, including some lawsuits alleging that GM's actions caused the value of its cars to drop.

Steve Berman, a lead attorney in the loss-of-value cases, said the appeals court ruled the bankruptcy order doesn't protect New GM from claims that it misrepresented the safety of cars made by pre-bankruptcy GM.

In its opinion, the appeals court said it is not confident that the deal for New GM to leave bankruptcy protection would have been approved "if Old GM had revealed the ignition switch defect in bankruptcy."