Ethics Newsline®

LOS ANGELES
A California judge last week reduced a record $4.9 billion product-liability judgment against General Motors to a still-record $1.2 billion, saying that the harsh penalty was necessary to deter future abuse.

Earlier this year, a six-member jury ordered GM to pay $4.9 billion to six family members who were badly burned when their 1979 Chevy Malibu caught fire after a rear-end collision.

The jury ruled that the fire was the result of a deliberately ignored design defect by GM.

GM contested the ruling, arguing that the jury had been denied important evidence and had ruled out of passion instead of reason, according to the Reuters news agency.

Los Angeles Superior Court judge Ernest Williams reduced GM’s penalty, but ruled that the automaker had suppressed safety data “in order to maximize profits to the disregard of public safety.”

Last week, the plaintiffs offered to reduce GM’s penalty to $300 million in exchange for recalling and fixing cars with vulnerable rear gas tanks, the Los Angeles Times reported.

GM has said it will appeal the latest ruling.