PHOENIX (Legal Newsline) — Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich announced March 7 that General Motors LLC will pay up to $6.28 in restitution to Arizona consumers after a settlement involving ignition switches in its vehicles.
GM had announced a series of recalls in 2014 related to faulty ignition switches in vehicles it sold to consumers. These switches could accidentally switch to “off” or “accessory” while consumers were driving.
After the recall, the Arizona Attorney General’s Office filed an Arizona consumer fraud lawsuit, alleging GM concealed defects, engaged in false advertising and created a corporate culture that devalued vehicle safety.
That lawsuit, however, did not include requests for consumer restitution. Brnovich amended the lawsuit when he took office in 2015.
"Consumers should always come first in consumer fraud and class action lawsuits," Brnovich said in a statement. "When I took office, I couldn't believe consumer payments weren't the focus of the state's lawsuit against GM. I wasn't going to settle until Arizona consumers received compensation."
Handling the case for Arizona were Matthew du Mee, unit chief counsel of the Consumer Litigation Unit, and assistant attorney general Dana Vogel.