Oklahoma AG sues GM over faulty vehicles

Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter on Thursday filed a lawsuit against General Motors stemming from a widespread ignition switch defect that resulted in numerous fatal crashes.

In the lawsuit, filed in Oklahoma County District Court, Hunter is asking a judge to order GM to pay civil penalties of up to $10,000 for each violation of the Oklahoma Consumer

Protection Act.

Between February 2014 and September 2014, GM issued seven vehicle recalls in response to the ignition switch problem, according to the lawsuit.

Those recalls affected more than 9 million vehicles in the United States, according to the lawsuit.

The defective switches were first installed in the Saturn Ion and Chevrolet Cobalt in the early 2000s, the lawsuit states.

The defect would cause drivers to experience a loss of electrical systems and, if a collision occurred, the

vehicle’s air bags could fail to deploy, the lawsuit alleges.

The lawsuit also alleges GM failed to warn consumers of the known risks and sold unsafe vehicles.

On Thursday, GM agreed to pay $120 million to settle claims from dozens of states related to the ignition switch defect, according to news reports.

The defect was linked to more than 100 deaths, according to news reports.