News Release
Beasley will Submit gm ignition switch injury, death claims to compensation fund
July 10, 2014
After face-to-face meeting with GM Victims Compensation Fund administrator Kenneth Feinberg, Beasley Allen founder Jere Beasley says he is willing to give the plan a chance to work
MONTGOMERY, ALA. (July 10, 2014) – After a personal meeting with GM Victims Compensation Fund administrator Kenneth Feinberg, Beasley Allen Founding Shareholder Jere L. Beasley says he is willing to give the plan a chance. Beasley, along with Beasley Allen shareholder Cole Portis, who heads of the firm’s Products Liability Section, and Lance Cooper, founder of The Cooper Firm based in Marietta, Ga., met with Feinberg on July 9 in Atlanta.
“I have been somewhat critical of the manner in which General Motors set up the compensation plan to be administered by Ken Feinberg. For example, I believed that General Motors had made the criteria for eligibility much too restrictive and limited. While I believe the criticism was justified, I agreed to meet with Mr. Feinberg to discuss how the plan would be implemented,” Beasley says. “Lance Cooper, Cole Portis and I met with Mr. Feinberg in Atlanta on Wednesday. We had a candid discussion covering a broad range of topics relating to the General Motors litigation, including how the plan would work for our clients. We all agreed that the details of our discussion would be confidential. I must say that I was impressed with Mr. Feinberg’s candor and his willingness to listen to our views. While we didn’t agree on everything, I do believe the meeting was productive.
“At the conclusion of the lengthy meeting, we have decided to submit claims, including death claims and those involving personal injury, to the plan. I believe our clients will receive fair treatment from the Claims Administrator. Of course there will be clients of ours who will prefer to keep their claims in the courts. We will continue to file lawsuits, but will give the plan a chance to work. If it doesn’t work for our clients we will have the option of going back to the court system.”
GM initially recalled about 780,000 2005-07 Chevrolet Cobalt and Pontiac G5 vehicles on Feb. 13. Twelve days later, it expanded the recall to include an additional 590,000 model-year 2003-07 Saturn Ion, Chevy HHR, Pontiac Solstice, and Saturn Sky vehicles. That initial recall now encompasses 2.6 million vehicles, and GM admits to 13 deaths related to the defect. In June, GM recalled an additional 3.4 million midsize and large cars for the same ignition switch defect. In July, GM recalled 17 older model (1997-2005) vehicles. GM attributes seven crashes, three deaths and eight injuries to this latest group of recalled vehicles, which it says allows “inadvertent ignition key rotation.” So far, GM has recalled 17.1 million cars this year because of the ignition switch defect.
About The Cooper Firm
Lance Cooper founded The Cooper Firm in 2006. With experience in substantial personal injury and wrongful death cases, he has represented plaintiffs in numerous civil jury trials and has successfully prosecuted hundreds of cases and gained multi-million dollar verdicts and settlements on behalf of his clients. For more information, visit www.thecooperfirm.com.
About Beasley Allen Law Firm
Headquartered in Montgomery, Alabama, Beasley Allen is comprised of more than 75 attorneys and over 200 support staff. Beasley Allen is a national leader in civil litigation, with verdicts and settlements in excess of $22 billion. For more information about our firm, please visit our website at www.beasleyallen.com.
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Media Contacts:
The Cooper Firm: Victoria Schneider (770) 427-5588 (770) 675-6443 direct victoria@thecooperfirm.com Beasley Allen: Wendi Lewis (334) 495-1308 (334) 221-3595 cell (800) 898-2034 x169 wendi.lewis@beasleyallen.com