March, 2016
“Fight then wherever you may be to protect us all from the end that shouldn’t be”
March, 2016
The Center for Auto Safety has issued a Press Release on its law suit against NHTSA seeking public disclosure of TSBs.“According to CAS Executive Director Clarence Ditlow: “DOT’s new measures to implement the law will save consumers money for repairs covered by Service Bulletins and dealer communications. For Service Bulletins and dealer communications concerning defects that can cause crashes, deaths and injuries, disclosure could save lives. The GM ignition switch provides a good example. In December 2005, GM issued a TSB warning that the ignition switch could shut off while driving that was never posted by DOT. Nine months earlier in February 2005, GM issued a electronic dealer alert warning that the ignition switch could cut off while driving. This alert was never made public. Disclosure of these dealer communications could have saved lives and led to an earlier discovery of the ignition switch defect.”
See Release below.
March 28, 2016202-328-7700
In Response to CAS Lawsuit, NHTSA Announces Plan to Comply With Law to Post TSBs and Manufacturer Communications to Dealers
Until sued by Center for Auto Safety (CAS), DOT violated the Congressional mandate in the “Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act” (MAP-21) enacted on July 6, 2012 that “the Secretary shall make available on a publicly accessible Internet website, a true or representative copy of each communication to the manufacturer’s dealers or to owners or purchasers of a motor vehicle or replacement equipment produced by the manufacturer about a defect or noncompliance with a motor vehicle safety standard prescribed under this chapter in a vehicle or equipment that is sold or serviced.”
On March 25, DOT finally announced its intent to start obeying the law by issuing a Federal Register noticestating it would post all Technical Service Bulletins and communications to dealers on defects in vehicles, regardless of whether the defects were safety related. DOT also required manufacturers of vehicles and equipment to prepare indexes to TSBs and dealer communications, as a guide to consumers looking for information on potential vehicle problems. “At a minimum, an index must identify the make, model, and model year of the affected vehicles and must include a concise summary of the subject matter of the communication.”
According to CAS Executive Director Clarence Ditlow: “DOT’s new measures to implement the law will save consumers money for repairs covered by Service Bulletins and dealer communications. For Service Bulletins and dealer communications concerning defects that can cause crashes, deaths and injuries, disclosure could save lives. The GM ignition switch provides a good example. In December 2005, GM issued a TSB warning that the ignition switch could shut off while driving that was never posted by DOT. Nine months earlier in February 2005, GM issued a electronic dealer alert warning that the ignition switch could cut off while driving. This alert was never made public. Disclosure of these dealer communications could have saved lives and led to an earlier discovery of the ignition switch defect.”
# # #
The Center is represented by Adina Rosenbaum of Public Citizen Litigation Group in Washington DC (202-588-1000).
Clarence Ditlow
Executive Director
Center for Auto Safety
1825 Connecticut Ave NW #330
Washington DC 20009
March, 2016
WSJ reports:
“General Motors Co.lawyers who lost their jobs over the auto maker’s ignition-switch crisis will avoid relinquishing their law licenses.
Michigan authorities in February and March denied requests from an ignition-switch victim’s father to investigate a half dozen former GM employees, according to documents The Wall Street Journal reviewed.
Jay Gass, a Tennessee retiree, asked Michigan’s Attorney Grievance Commission to launch the probes and suggested the former employees be stripped of their state law licenses, the documents show. Mr. Gass’s 27-year-old daughter died in 2014 in a car with the faulty switch after GM failed for more than a decade to recall vehicles with the safety defect, now linked to 124 deaths….
The Michigan commission, a state supreme court arm that polices lawyer misconduct, rejected his requests, saying the matters were litigated and resolved. “The tragedies that resulted from various individuals employed by General Motors are not subject to review by this agency,” a commission staffer wrote in separate letters to Mr. Gass that the Journal reviewed. The letters supported decisions not to reveal confidential client information.
A corporate lawyer’s obligation to speak up varies by state. Florida lawyers, for instance, must breach confidentiality to warn consumers at risk of death or bodily harm. But GM lawyers weren’t required to do so under Michigan’s professional conduct rules, said Stephen Gillers, a legal ethics professor at New York University’s law school.
Michigan and most other states “leave it up to the lawyer’s conscience,” Mr. Gillers said.”
See https://www.wsj.com/articles/michigan-won-t-discipline-lawyers-in-gm-ignition-case-1459080002
Unequal justice for crash victims.
Lou
March, 2016
Please see Nader’s views at http://www.themillbrookindependent.com/content/ralph-nader-talks-salisbury-forumhttp://www.registercitizen.com/article/RC/20160306/NEWS/160309691
Lou
March, 2016
“NHTSA’s ability to identify and define safety-related motor vehicle defects relies in large part on manufacturers’ self-reporting. However, although federal regulations may require them to report certain information to NHTSA, manufacturers do not always do so, or do not do so in a timely manner. Additionally, the information a manufacturer is required to report varies greatly depending on the product and company size and purpose. Given these constraints, safety-related information developed or discovered in private litigation is an important resource for NHTSA.
This Enforcement Guidance Bulletin sets forth NHTSA’s recommended guiding principles and best practices to be utilized in the context of private litigation. To the extent protective orders, settlement agreements, or other confidentiality provisions prohibit information obtained in private litigation from being transmitted to NHTSA, such limitations are contrary to Rule 26 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, its state corollaries, and sound principles of public policy. Although such restrictions are generally prohibited by applicable rules and law, the Agency recommends that litigants include a specific provision in any protective order or settlement agreement that provides for disclosure of relevant motor vehicle safety information to NHTSA, regardless of any other restrictions on the disclosure or dissemination of such information.”
Please see Guidelines for reporting at https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2016/03/11/2016-05522/nhtsa-enforcement-guidance-bulletin-2015-01-recommended-best-practices-for-protective-orders-and
Please also see attached comment to NHTSA by Investigator Steve Gray that notes the past legal practices that permitted deaths and injuries to occur for decades.
Now we still have to make sure that legal information transmitted to NHTSA is made public and acted upon in the public interest.
Lou
March, 2016
See Consumer Affairs article on Google and lobbyist David Strickland. https://www.consumeraffairs.com/news/google-wants-congress-to-put-self-driving-cars-in-the-fast-lane-031516.html
Lou
March, 2016
FYI January 27, 2014 National Automobile Dealers Association New Orleans, LA $325,500.00 Full list at http://citizenuprising.com/hillary-clintons-speaking-fees-2013-2015/
