NEW YORK (AP) – A civil trial starting this month in New York City will test the legal boundaries of hundreds of claims remaining against General Motors over faulty ignition switches. The case involves an Oklahoma crash that injured the driver. It’s the first of six bellwether trials scheduled over the next year to narrow legal issues in lawsuits affecting more than 1,000 people. The trials in Manhattan federal court will begin Jan. 11 with the claims of Robert Scheuer, of Tulsa. His lawyer says a defective ignition switch prevented air bags from deploying when his car smashed head-on into trees. General Motors spokesman Jim Cain says the air bags weren’t designed to deploy the way the car struck the ground before landing amid trees.
