G.M. Loses Bid to Dismiss Suit Over Switch – New York Times
G.M. Loses Bid to Dismiss Suit Over Switch – New York Times
By Danielle Ivory
Mr. Cooper said it was likely that he would want to depose Michael P. Millikin, G.M.’s general counsel, along with other company employees and staff at Delphi, which supplied the ignition switch.
Mr. Cooper took the case in 2011 and hired an engineer to investigate why the engine in Ms. Melton’s 2005 Cobalt had suddenly shut off. The engineer discovered a difference between the ignition switch in Ms. Melton’s car and a $30 replacement that he had bought from a dealership. The force required to turn the newer ignition on and off was greater. In April 2013, Mr. Cooper asked Raymond DeGiorgio, the G.M. engineer responsible for the ignition switch for the Cobalt and other small cars, about the differences between the switch in Ms. Melton’s car and the newer switch. Mr. DeGiorgio testified under oath that he was not aware of any change in its design.