General Motors won a victory in the first personal injury case to go to trial involving its faulty ignition switch amid charges of fraud.
But the case never even got to a jury because a witness came forward to contradict allegations made by the plaintiff, an Oklahoma postal worker named Robert ScheuerThis case was expected to be a bellwether that would signal whether victims of GM's faulty ignition switch could successfully sue GM instead of taking whatever settlement the automaker offered to them.
Scheuer sued GM (GM) in federal court charging that he was injured when his Chevrolet Cobalt hit a tree and the air bag did not deploy. He claimed he suffered from memory loss as a result of the accident. His wife testified that as a result of the memory loss, the couple lost their "dream house" because her husband misplaced a check they needed to buy the houseBut after the trial started in New York earlier this month, a realtor in Oklahoma contacted GM to say the couple actually lost the house because they had presented an altered check as proof of funds to buy the house. GM used that evidence to impeach Scheuer's testimony, and Thursday he dropped the case.
"We had already started to show by strong, clear and convincing evidence to the jury that the ignition switch didn't have anything to do with Mr Scheuer's accident or injuries," said GM's statement. "The apparent lies the plaintiff and his wife told the jury ended the trial early, and we are pleased that the case is over without any payment whatsoever to the Mr. Scheuer