GM, outside firm conspired to hide faulty ignition switches, lawyer alleges
Image from Linda Parton / Shutterstock.com.
A plaintiff’s lawyer has accused General Motors Co. of conspiring with an outside law firm to conceal faulty ignition switches in millions of cars.
Court documents filed by Texas lawyer Bob Hilliard, who represents consumers suing the automaker in a consolidated federal court case in New York, say GM and the firm King & Spalding committed a type of fraud that would exempt certain emails and other communications from attorney-client privilege, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Hilliard, citing court cases, said the privilege shouldn’t apply to communications made for the purpose of getting advice for the commission of a fraud or a crime.
His brief cites a series of cases in which King & Spalding lawyers recommended that GM settle lawsuits over airbags that failed to deploy.
“I want the internal emails and attorney-client advice,” Hilliard said. “There was a chance for those lawyers to blow the whistle. Instead, what they told GM was to settle the case.”
A GM spokesman said the filing was mostly a rehash of matters that have previously been reported in the press. He also said GM has already produced “substantial amounts of privileged material” to the plaintiffs, including many of the communications the plaintiffs now seek.
“We strongly deny the accusations in the motion and will file an appropriate response,” he told the Journal.
A spokeswoman for King & Spalding had no immediate comment, the Journal said.
See also:
ABAJournal.com: “Documents show GM knew of ignition-switch issue, says plaintiff’s lawyer in leading case”
ABAJournal.com: “Bankruptcy court battle looms over economic-loss claims against GM concerning ignition-switch issues”
