GM blasts US$1b deal between ignition switch plaintiffs, creditor trust

New York

PLAINTIFFS suing General Motors Co over faulty ignition switches and other alleged vehicle defects have reached a US$1 billion settlement requiring the carmaker to turn over that amount of stock, a lawyer for the plaintiffs said in a court hearing on Friday.

GM lawyer Richard Godfrey strongly criticised the agreement, telling US District Judge Jesse Furman in Manhattan the Detroit-based company was given no say in the deal negotiated between the plaintiffs and a trust set up for creditors of "old GM", which holds many liabilities predating the carmaker's 2009 bankruptcy.