Hagens Berman Attorney Representing GM Owners Says Today's Internal Report is "masking the truth"

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Today Steve Berman, the Hagens Berman attorney representing owners of General Motors GM vehicles in a class-action lawsuit attempting to hold GM accountable for an alleged botched recall of 2.6 million cars with defective ignition switches, called GM's recently released report, “a cynical attempt at masking the truth.”

The internal investigation, released today, was commissioned by GM and identifies, “a pattern of incompetence and neglect,” but falls short of acknowledging the claims cited in the suit filed March 19, 2014, which accuses GM of ignoring warnings of the safety defects as early as 2001.

“Let's not lose sight of the fact that GM commissioned and paid for the report, and its primary author is an attorney who represents GM,” said Berman. “I see this as nothing more than a cynical attempt at masking the truth, at the expense of GM owners.”

The safety defect at issue has been linked to 12 fatalities and more than 300 crashes.

Hagens Berman is actively investigating whether the recall should be expanded to cover other GM vehicles and seeks to recover statutory damages for the willful nondisclosure of critical safety information.

“GM CEO Mary Barra seems to think that a public display of investigatory self-flagellation will somehow mollify or distract the public regarding what we believe is a much more insidious reality – that GM had full knowledge of the defects much earlier, and wantonly ignored the issue,” Berman added.

Additional information about the investigation is available at www.hbsslaw.com/GM. Concerned consumers who have owned or leased any of the affected GM models during the affected period are encouraged to contact a Hagens Berman attorney by emailing GeneralMotors@HBSSlaw.com or calling 206-623-7292.

Steve Berman is available for comment or interview. For media inquiries, please contact Mark Firmani, at mark@firmani.com.

About Hagens Berman

Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP is a consumer-rights law firm with offices in nine cities. The firm represents investors, whistleblowers, workers and consumers in complex litigation. More about the Hagens Berman and its successes can be found at www.hbsslaw.com.