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Judge throws out GM shareholder ignition-switch lawsuit

By Amy R. Connolly
From left, Laura Christian, Randal Rademaker and Shannon Wooten, who had children die in car accidents caused by faulty GM ignition switches, attend a press conference on the switch recall on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., last year. The faulty switch, which can randomly shut off a moving automobile, is linked to dozens of deaths. On Monday, a judge threw out a lawsuit from General Motors shareholders who hoped to recoup losses from the vehicle ignition-switch recall. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI
From left, Laura Christian, Randal Rademaker and Shannon Wooten, who had children die in car accidents caused by faulty GM ignition switches, attend a press conference on the switch recall on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., last year. The faulty switch, which can randomly shut off a moving automobile, is linked to dozens of deaths. On Monday, a judge threw out a lawsuit from General Motors shareholders who hoped to recoup losses from the vehicle ignition-switch recall. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI | License Photo

WASHINGTON, June 30 (UPI) -- A Delaware judge dismissed a lawsuit from General Motors shareholders who hoped to recoup losses from the 2014 recall of millions of vehicles with ignition-switch defects.

The judge's ruling Monday stated the shareholders have not shown proof the company's board of directors acted in bad faith in trying to prevent the mounting losses from recall of 2.6 million vehicles.

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The shareholders alleged the directors breached their duties by not addressing the risks and hoped to recover losses from expenses, fines, lawsuits and damages. So far, the defective switch has been linked to 119 deaths and 234 injuries.

In the big win for the Detroit automaker, Judge Sam Glasscock said the GM board "did not consciously fail to monitor" or oversee GM operations. He also said the shareholders "have failed to raise a reasonable doubt that GM's directors acted in good faith or otherwise face a substantial likelihood of personal liability in connection with the faulty ignition switches."

The company has been facing a flurry of lawsuits and has been the focus of several investigations after it was discovered it used faulty parts and hid the information for years. GM praised the decision.

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"The Delaware Court properly dismissed the complaint because GM's board of directors did its job in exercising oversight over the company," GM spokesman Jim Cain said.

Cain said he is hopeful similar cases pending in Michigan courts will be thrown out because of the Delaware decision.

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