GM sued for $10B over ignition-switch problem

WASHINGTON — A federal lawsuit has been filed against General Motors seeking as much as $10 billion in damages to compensate millions of vehicle owners for lost resale value due to faulty ignition switches.

The case accuses GM of concealing the defects and the potential safety problems associated with them.

GM management, however, have testified to Congress that it was only this year that the company, with a few exceptions, realized the ignition-switch problem was a safety issue. The company had previously classified the problem as a customer-satisfaction issue.