Judge’s comments could abruptly end GM ignition switch trial

Scheuer’s attorney Bob Hilliard said GM is trying to take the focus off the ignition switch defect, but the judge said he thought Hilliard and others should have vetted their client better.

Furman’s comments to the parties came after he ruled that GM could introduce witnesses and evidence that call into question the truthfulness of testimony last week from Scheuer and his wife that the accident was linked to events that led to their eviction from their “dream house” months later.

Robert Scheuer, 49 years old, had sued GM alleging he suffered injuries when a defective ignition switch disabled the air bags in his 2003 Saturn Ion during a May 2014 crash in Oklahoma.

“We said all along that each case would be decided on its own merits, and we had already started to show by strong, clear and convincing evidence to the jury that the ignition switch didn’t have anything to do with Mr Scheuer’s accident or injuries”, GM said in a statement. If successful, GM’s motion may damage the credibility of a key player in an ongoing trial over the switch, which is the subject of several hundred lawsuits. He said plaintiffs’ lawyers didn’t know about the alleged discrepancies related to Mr. Scheuer’s home purchase and that he was preparing for the next case.

U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman in Manhattan said Thursday that GM could show a jury evidence which he said would probably be “devastating” to the case of Robert Scheuer.

Scheuer’s trial began on January 12. GM says it has fixed the problem.

Scheuer later agreed to voluntarily dismiss his claims, ending the trial.

On the trial’s first day, an Oklahoma real estate agent who had accused Scheuer of fraud in a police complaint heard a radio report about the trial and reached out to GM, the automaker said in court papers.

Although the Scheuer case fell apart, there is no dispute over the fact that the faulty ignition switches were prone to flipping off, cutting off power to air bags and other critical functions.

The first case for trial was chosen by Hilliard, who with Steve Bermanis leading the ignition-switch litigation. Bellwethers are often used in product-liability litigation when many people have similar claims and allow lawyers for both sides to try out legal strategies or help them determine whether to settle and for how much. The company also paid $575 million to settle other lawsuits, including some from victims and shareholders. Those claims covered 124 deaths and 275 injuries, though GM’s fund rejected more than 90 percent of the 4,343 claims it received, according to figures the company released in December.