State of Arizona sues GM

The automobile giant is accused of hiding safety defects that affected millions of vehicles.

Arizona attorney general Thomas C. Horne made a statement on Wednesday, declaring that the state of Arizona had filed a lawsuit against General Motors over a record number of recalls. Arizona is seeking for $3 billion from GM, which is the amount the state claims it was defrauded, The New York Times reported.

GM has recalled 2.6 million vehicles this year due to a defect in ignition switches, which can potentially shut down the power in the car, leaving brakes, airbags and steering useless. The suit also lists dozens of defects including minor ones like seat belts, brake lights and headlights.

During his speech to the press, Attorney General Horne said that they chose to file their own suit because that was the best way to protect their citizens. He said  "General Motors represented that it was taking care of the safety of its cars, and in fact there were serious defects that it did not disclose to the public for years," according to the Times.

The complaint claims that the company "manufactured and sold millions of vehicles that were not safe, including hundreds of thousands in Arizona, and it failed to remedy serious defects in millions of older GM-branded vehicles." Approximately 300,000 of the 2.6 million cars that were recalled were sold in the State of Arizona, the complaint added.

According to the complaint, "Despite 4,800 consumer complaints and more than 30,000 warranty repairs, GM waited until 2014 to disclose this defect."  The company is accused of knowingly concealing these safety issues and defrauding consumers.

The Times report said that James R. Cain, a spokesperson for GM, when asked about his opinion on the issue, said that the company, "has not yet had a chance to read and assess the complaint."

Earlier, the company had stated that the "new" GM, which emerged after the 2009 bankruptcy shouldn't be held accountable for the actions and policies of the "old" GM.