Last Friday, U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman issued from his bench in the Southern District of New York an order for discovery to begin on a number of cases related to the February 2014 General Motors ignition switch recall.
Reuters reports the order covers suits not tied to an ongoing case regarding GM’s battle to maintain its liability shield as erected in bankruptcy court back in 2009. Furman added that discovery should only focus on requests made to the automaker for supporting documents on a “reasonable, but aggressive schedule,” with depositions to be obtained at a later date.
The order comes as 131 fatality claims were filed thus far with the compensation fund established by GM, and maintained by attorney Kenneth Feinberg and his team of experts. The fund also identified a total of 19 fatalities linked to the ignition switch found in 2.6 million Chevrolet, Pontiac and Saturn compact vehicles, up from the automaker’s original count of 13.
Meanwhile, the bankruptcy protection case won’t have a verdict until sometime in 2015. The automaker’s lawyers had requested discovery be delayed until after the case was resolved.