Arizona’s attorney general kicked off a lawsuit against General Motors, saying the auto manufacturer is guilty of defrauding buyers out of $3 billion or so for its many product recalls.
G.M. has announced a record number of recalls in recent months, including a notable call-back for defective ignition switches that was two-plus decades too late, that swept up 2.6 million vehicles.
Now Arizona is accusing the car maker of intentionally misleading customers through its product advertising venues, The New York Times reported.
The complaint says it’s “difficult to find a brand whose reputation has taken as great a beating as has the New G.M. brand starting in February 2014,” the newspaper reported. The complaint also says that “no reasonable consumer” would now purchase a G.M. vehicle, due to safety reasons.
Attorney General Thomas Horne said in an interview with The New York Times: “We’re proceeding with our suit because it’s the best way to protect the citizens of Arizona. General Motors represented that it was taking care of the safety of its cars and in fact, there were serious defects that it did not disclose to the public for years.”
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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