Letter to Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors Company - Extend January 31 Deadline for Victims to Apply for Compensation Fund

Letter

Dear Ms. Barra:

We write today to urge you to reconsider the arbitrary deadlines associated with G.M.'s ignition switch compensation fund. Victims that qualify for compensation must have a meaningful choice between accepting restitution through the fund or pursuing their claims in court, and that choice can't be made until they have all the information necessary to decide whether to waive their legal rights to pursue litigation at a future date.

On Monday, fund manager Kenneth Feinberg announced that the total fatalities attributed to G.M.'s defective cars had climbed to 50 -- up from your company's previously announced 13. The total number of catastrophic injuries rose to seven, and minor injuries to 68. In total, according to Mr. Feinberg -- and by extension G.M., through its delegation of authority -- 125 people have been killed or injured due to defective ignition switches in G.M. cars and are eligible for compensation. Under the rules of the compensation fund, applicants that are "deemed eligible" have ninety days to decide whether to accept payment through the fund -- and waive any future legal rights associated with their claims, regardless of new information or changed circumstances.

However, this deadly defect was concealed by your company for almost a decade. Even after the defect was uncovered through litigation, G.M. failed to notify families like the Averill's of Washington, Connecticut, that they had been on your company's internal list of thirteen victims for years. Jean Averill's death occurred in 2003 -- one of the earliest fatalities G.M.'s legal department had attributed to the ignition switch defect -- and her family was not made aware of this link until the New York Times contacted them in November 2014.

The Department of Justice is investigating whether any criminal conduct was involved in G.M.'s handling of the ignition switch defect. Further, several victims who have decided to pursue claims in court are waiting on a federal court determination of the extent of G.M.'s liability in the aftermath of its 2009 bankruptcy. Put simply, right now, injured parties do not know enough about their legal rights or facts to make an informed decision. Indeed, they cannot have sufficient information until the DOJ concludes its criminal investigation and the bankruptcy court decides whether to lift the liability shield that G.M. now unjustifiably hides behind.

While we appreciate your company's voluntary commitment to the compensation fund, to truly live up to the promises you have made to the American public in the wake of the ignition switch recalls, G.M. must reconsider the deadlines associated with the fund. G.M. should either commit to waiving its bankruptcy shield in all pending legal actions, or permit all victims who qualify for the fund to postpone their acceptance of their compensation until the completion of the Department of Justice investigation and the ruling of the bankruptcy court.

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