GM Wants to Void Pre-Bankruptcy Warranties

General Motors (GM) has told a court it should not be responsible for warranty repairs for problems that pre-date its bankruptcy.

The carmaker made its case in a motion to dismiss a class action lawsuit filed to correct suspension problem in more than 400,000 Chevrolets produced for the 2007 and 2008 model years.

The case arose from the complaint of one consumer, Donna Trusky of Blakely, Pa. In her June 29 lawsuit, Trusky claims her Chevrolet Impala was flawed by bad rear spindle rods, which she said caused her rear tires to suffer excessive tread wear.

The suit, which seeks class-action status, accuses GM of walking away from its warranty responsibilities and demands that the carmaker make repairs to affected vehicles. In making her case, Trusky points out that GM did, in fact, repair the same problem on Chevrolet Impalas sold to police departments.

'Old GM's' problem

But GM says the faulty rods are not its responsibility. Company lawyers note the cars in question were manufactured by “Old GM,” the company before it declared bankruptcy in 2009. The court filing maintains that “New GM” has no responsibility to repair cars manufactured before the reorganization.

"New GM's warranty obligations for vehicles sold by Old GM are limited to the express terms and conditions in the Old GM written warranties on a going-forward basis," wrote GM lawyer Benjamin Jeffers. “New GM did not assume responsibility for Old GM's design choices, conduct, or alleged breaches of liability under the warranty."

The motion was filed in U.S. District Court in Detroit. It will be up to the judge in the case to decide whether “New GM” has to fix Trusky's car, and 399,999 others.