Consumer Law

More Chrysler/GM ?Bankruptcy Loophole? Buzz

By Andy Hoffman

Today?s Wall Street Journal is reporting that ?[t]he U.S. Treasury Department is negotiating with more than a dozen state attorneys general to roll back two key features of General Motors Corp.'s bankruptcy plan that would have wiped out billions of dollars in potential claims from car-accident victims and closed auto dealers?.President Barack Obamas auto task force is considering a plan that would allow those injured in past or future accidents involving GM vehicles to sue the auto maker in state courts after the company emerges from bankruptcy protection, people involved in the discussions said.?The auto task force has been caught off guard by the recent outcry from attorneys general and consumer groups.?

Holy corporate censorship, Batman!  An ad that seriously takes on the ?bankruptcy loophole? contained in GM?s Chapter 11 plan (which we?ve posted here and is profiled in the video below) was abruptly pulled by Comcast (America?s largest cable operator) after complaints by GM.  Comcast says a ?review? of the ad is pending. 

Philadelphia?s WPVI-TV profiled Terri Cartier whose 2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee seat belt malfunctioned during a rollover accident, causing her to be thrown from the car, suffering ?broken bones,? and collapsed lungs that ?filled with blood.? "They don't care about people's lives,? Cartier said.   ?They don't care about family's lives, children, people who die? But they'll fix a part? I think that's wrong. It's sad."

Houston?s KHOU profiled Jimsey Walton, who lost her husband Mike and several inches of bone in her right leg when their 2002 GMC Yukon was involved in a roll over accident, causing the vehicle?s defective roof to crush, and its defective seat belts to disengage, ?partially ejecting? the two from the car. ?I lost my husband and my two children lost their dad.  I suffered severe injuries that will follow me the rest of my life,? said Jimsey.  ?I think they [GM] should be held accountable for what happened to our family.?

The Detroit Free Press and NBC?s Chicago affiliate (video below) profile the Catalano family who lost their mother, Linda, when her 1997 Chrysler Town & Country inexplicably shifted from park to reverse as she was exiting the vehicle, knocking her to the ground and ultimately resulting in her death.

Special Note: The NBC video below also provides one of the most excellent summations of the whole GM/Chrysler ?bankruptcy loophole? debacle that we?ve seen?so definitely check it out.

Full post as published by ThePopTort on June 26, 2009 (boomark / email).