A federal court putative class action alleges General Motors Corp. fraudulently concealed a defect in ignition switches of 2.6 million Chevrolet, Pontiac and Saturn vehicles, a problem that has caused at least 13 deaths.
The complaint, in Ruff v. General Motors, filed Monday in Trenton, N.J., claims company engineers first learned in 2001 that switches in some vehicles can accidentally move to the “acc” or “off” position, causing engine shutdown and resultant loss of power steering and antilock brakes and airbag deactivation.
