GM Settles Major Ignition Case in Cobb County – Daily Report
By Kathy Tucker
The lawsuit over the 2010 death of Brooke Melton, 29, ultimately identified an ignition defect that caused cars to stall at highway speeds, leading to recalls of millions of cars with the faulty switch and launching an avalanche of similar suits. The Meltons’ case served as the foundation for multidistrict litigation in New York and fueled investigations by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the U.S. Congress.
GM settled with the Meltons for $5 million in 2013. But the parents sought to rescind the deal and give back the money after hearing evidence that the company knew of the defect without taking steps to recall the cars.
“They are grieving parents who simply wanted the truth and for no one else to suffer a similar loss,” their attorney, Lance Cooper of Marietta, said in a statement Friday. “One of the most important issues for the Meltons was accountability. This is a company that concealed this defect for years. They wanted to hold GM accountable, and that is what refiling the lawsuit did.