Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, September 12, 1995 TAG: 9509120051
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B8 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: MUSKOGEE, OKLA. LENGTH: Medium
The boy's father, Bob Bishop, said Monday the automaker agreed to settle the lawsuit late Friday, two days after a federal judge in Muskogee punished GM for disobeying court orders. The judge barred GM from using any defense exhibits.
GM spokesman Ed Lechtzin confirmed the lawsuit was settled. The trial was scheduled to begin today.
About 50 similar lawsuits against GM are pending over its C/K model pickups. Plaintiffs' lawyers had considered the Bishop suit pivotal to GM's defense of the pickup models.
The automaker lost a $105.2 million verdict two years ago in a state court in Atlanta. That ruling was overturned and the case is scheduled for retrial. The automaker also has avoided a government attempt to force GM to recall the trucks.
Shawn Bishop, 22, died in November 1993 when his 1979 Chevrolet pickup struck a bridge railing on a foggy morning. Bishop's father said the collision ruptured the fuel tank and his son died trying to crawl through the windshield.
Last week, U.S. District Judge Michael Burrage issued a scathing order that harshly criticized GM for disobeying court orders regarding pretrial evidence, known as discovery.
His ruling meant GM would have had to rely solely on testimony from witnesses, without using charts or other exhibits considered crucial for a complex trial.
In a motion Friday, GM asked the judge to reconsider.
Bishop, who would not discuss terms of the settlement, said he had sought only to have GM's C/K model pickup trucks recalled. ``We're very pleased with the way things worked out,'' he said. ``I'm still very sorry we weren't able to get a recall.''
by CNB