Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette announced that Michigan will receive a $4,291,165.45 settlement from General Motors over allegations GM concealed safety issues related to ignition-switch-related defects in their vehicles, as part of a $120 million multi-state settlement.
"There is no denying having cars on the road with faulty ignition switches was dangerous," Schuette said. "Today's settlement shows General Motors is taking responsibility and committed to moving forward and creating quality cars Michigan residents can trust."
The settlement, reached between the attorneys general of 49 states, the District of Columbia and GM, concludes a multi-state investigation into GM's failure to disclose known safety defects associated with key rotation and ignition switch related issues in several models of GM cars.
In 2014, GM issued seven vehicle recalls in response to unintended key-rotation-related and/or ignition-switch related issues, which have affected over 600,000 vehicles in Michigan.
The recalls involved a defective ignition switch when, under certain conditions, could move out of the "Run" position to the "Accessory" or "Off" position.
If a collision occurs when the ignition switch is in the "Accessory" or "Off" position, the safety airbags may also fail to deploy.
States alleged certain employees of GM and General Motors Corporation knew as early as 2004 that the ignition switch posed a safety defect. Despite this knowledge, GM employees decided it wasn't a safety concern and delayed making recalls.
The states alleged that these actions were unfair and deceptive and that the automaker's actions violated state consumer protection laws.
