DAMON SZATKOWSKI and : COURT OF COMMON PLEAS KAREN M. SZATKOWSKI, on behalf of her son : LUZERNE COUNTY DAMON SZATKOWSKI, : : Plaintiffs, : v. : : GENERAL MOTORS, LLC : No. ______________________ c/o Corporation Service Company : 2595 Interstate Drive, Suite 103 : Harrisburg, PA 17110 : and : RICK WEAVER BUICK, PONTIAC, : GMC, INC. : 714 W. 12 th Street : Erie, PA 16501 : Defendants. : NOTICE TO PLEAD You have been sued in Court. If you wish to defend against the claims set forth in the following pages, you must take action within twenty (20) days after this Complaint is served, by entering a written appearance personally or by attorney and filing in writing with the court your defenses or objections to the claims set forth against you. You are warned that if you fail to do so, the case may proceed without you and a judgment may be entered against you by the court, without further notice, for any money claimed or for any other claim or relief requested by the Plaintiff. You may lose money or property or other rights important to you. YOU SHOULD TAKE THIS PAPER TO YOUR LAWYER AT ONCE. IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A LAWYER OR CANNOT AFFORD ONE, GO TO OR TELEPHONE THE OFFICE SET FORTH BELOW TO FIND OUT WHERE YOU CAN GET LEGAL HELP. LEGAL SERVICES OF NORTHEASTERN PA, INC. 410 Bicentennial Building 145 E. Broad Street 15 Public Square - or - Room 108 Wilkes-Barre, PA 18701 Hazleton, PA 18201 (570) 825-8567 (570) 455-9512 ROSS FELLER CASEY, LLP BY: /s/ Matthew A. Casey MATTHEW A. CASEY, ESQUIRE ROBERTA A. GOLDEN, ESQUIRE IDDO HAREL, ESQUIRE BRIAN J. MCCORMICK, JR., ESQUIRE Attorneys for Plaintiffs
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DAMON SZATKOWSKI and : COURT OF COMMON PLEAS
KAREN M. SZATKOWSKI, on behalf of her son : LUZERNE COUNTY
DAMON SZATKOWSKI, :
:
Plaintiffs, :
v. :
:
GENERAL MOTORS, LLC : No. ______________________
c/o Corporation Service Company :
2595 Interstate Drive, Suite 103 :
Harrisburg, PA 17110 :
and :
RICK WEAVER BUICK, PONTIAC, :
GMC, INC. :
714 W. 12th Street :
Erie, PA 16501 :
Defendants. :
NOTICE TO PLEAD
You have been sued in Court. If you wish to defend against the claims set forth in the
following pages, you must take action within twenty (20) days after this Complaint is served, by
entering a written appearance personally or by attorney and filing in writing with the court your
defenses or objections to the claims set forth against you. You are warned that if you fail to do
so, the case may proceed without you and a judgment may be entered against you by the court,
without further notice, for any money claimed or for any other claim or relief requested by the
Plaintiff. You may lose money or property or other rights important to you.
YOU SHOULD TAKE THIS PAPER TO YOUR LAWYER AT ONCE. IF YOU DO
NOT HAVE A LAWYER OR CANNOT AFFORD ONE, GO TO OR TELEPHONE THE
OFFICE SET FORTH BELOW TO FIND OUT WHERE YOU CAN GET LEGAL HELP.
LEGAL SERVICES OF NORTHEASTERN PA, INC.
410 Bicentennial Building 145 E. Broad Street
15 Public Square - or - Room 108
Wilkes-Barre, PA 18701 Hazleton, PA 18201
(570) 825-8567 (570) 455-9512
ROSS FELLER CASEY, LLP
BY: /s/ Matthew A. Casey
MATTHEW A. CASEY, ESQUIRE
ROBERTA A. GOLDEN, ESQUIRE
IDDO HAREL, ESQUIRE
BRIAN J. MCCORMICK, JR., ESQUIRE
Attorneys for Plaintiffs
2
ROSS FELLER CASEY, LLP By: Matthew A. Casey, Esquire
Roberta A. Golden, Esquire
Brian J. McCormick, Jr., Esquire
Iddo Harel, Esquire
Attorney ID Nos. 84443/52901/81437/209830
One Liberty Place
1650 Market Street
Suite 3450
Philadelphia, PA 19103
(215) 574-2000 Attorney for Plaintiff(s)
DAMON SZATKOWSKI and : COURT OF COMMON PLEAS
KAREN M. SZATKOWSKI, on behalf of her son : LUZERNE COUNTY
DAMON SZATKOWSKI, :
:
Plaintiffs, :
v. :
:
GENERAL MOTORS, LLC : No. ______________________
c/o Corporation Service Company :
2595 Interstate Drive, Suite 103 :
Harrisburg, PA 17110 :
and :
RICK WEAVER BUICK, PONTIAC, :
GMC, INC. :
714 W. 12th Street :
Erie, PA 16501 :
:
Defendants. :
CIVIL ACTION COMPLAINT
Plaintiffs Damon Szatkowski (hereinafter, “Plaintiff”) and Karen M. Szatkowski file this
Complaint on behalf of her son, Plaintiff Damon Szatkowski, by and through their undersigned
counsel, hereby file their Complaint against Defendants General Motors, LLC and Rick Weaver
Buick, Pontiac, GMC, Inc. (collectively, “Defendants”), and, in support thereof, aver as follows:
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I. PARTIES
1. Plaintiff Damon Szatkowski is a citizen of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
and Luzerne County, residing at 212 Greystone Drive, Shavertown, Pennsylvania.
2. Plaintiff Damon Szatkowski was catastrophically injured as a result of an
automobile crash which occurred on December 3, 2011, during which time he was a
seatbelted driver of a 2006 Pontiac Solstice, registered in the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania, with a vehicle identification number (VIN) of 1G2MB35B56Y115912
(hereinafter, “the subject vehicle”).
3. Plaintiff Damon Szatkowski was born on July 14, 1994 and was 17 years of age
when the relevant events regarding this claim occurred.
4. Plaintiff Karen M. Szatkowski is an adult individual and citizen of the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania residing at 212 Greystone Drive, Shavertown, Luzerne County,
Pennsylvania.
5. Plaintiff Karen M. Szatkowski is the mother of Plaintiff Damon Szatkowski.
6. Plaintiff Karen M. Szatkowski files this Complaint on behalf of her son, Plaintiff
Damon Szatkowski, in her capacity as his parent and agent.
7. Defendant General Motors, LLC (“New GM”) is a Delaware limited liability
company. With respect to the facts alleged and claims asserted in this Complaint, New GM is the
corporate successor of General Motors Corporation (“Old GM”), which filed a voluntary
Complaint for relief under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code on June 1, 2009. On July 10,
2009, New GM acquired substantially all of the assets and assumed certain liabilities of Old GM
by way of a Section 363 sale under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code. Plaintiff’s causes of action
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in this lawsuit are brought against New GM, and Plaintiff does not assert any causes of action
against Old GM. Although this Complaint references facts against Old GM, it is for background
and reference purposes only. At all times relevant to the claims in this lawsuit, New GM has been
in the business of developing, manufacturing, and marketing cars throughout the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania. New GM has a network of authorized retailers that sells New GM vehicles and
parts throughout Pennsylvania. General Motors, LLC may be served with process through its
registered agent for service of process in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Corporation Service
Company, 2595 Interstate, Dr., Suite 103, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17110.
8. The subject vehicle was, upon information and belief, designed, manufactured,
inspected, tested, inspected, marketed and sold by Defendant New GM.
9. Defendant Rick Weaver Buick, Pontiac, GMC, Inc. (“Rick Weaver”) is a domestic
corporation doing business in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and may be served with process
at 714 W. 12th Street, Erie, Pennsylvania.
II. VENUE AND JURISDICTION
10. This Court has jurisdiction over each Defendant because each either has its
principal place of business in Pennsylvania, or does sufficient business in, or has sufficient
minimum contacts with, or otherwise intentionally avails itself of the markets of the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania through its business operations in Pennsylvania.
11. Venue is properly laid in this County pursuant to Pennsylvania Rules of Civil
Procedure 1006 and 2179.
12. The amount in controversy exceeds the local rules for amounts in controversy
requiring arbitration.
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III. FACTS
13. Jeffrey Pyros (uncle of Plaintiff Damon Szatkowski) owned a 2006 Pontiac Solstice
STD, which he purchased new from Defendant Rick Weaver. Jeffrey Pyros purchased the 2006
Pontiac Solstice because of the vehicle’s advertised quality, reliability, and safety features. The
2006 Pontiac Solstice, Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) 1G2MB35B56Y115912, and was
purchased new by Jeffrey Pyros.
14. On December 3, 2011, at approximately 2:59 pm, Damon Szatkowski was driving
himself and a friend, Danny Saba, in his uncle’s 2006 Pontiac Solstice on a Pennsylvania roadway,
North Street in Luzerne Borough in a reasonable and customary manner. It was a clear and dry
afternoon.
15. At all material times, Damon was wearing his lap and shoulder seatbelt which
was, upon information and belief, designed, manufactured, tested, installed, and sold by Defendant
New GM.
16. As Damon Szatkowski was travelling southbound on North Street, suddenly and
without warning, the 2006 Pontiac Solstice became uncontrollable and veered to the right, where
it struck a retaining wall on the west side of North Street.
17. The airbags in the 2006 Pontiac Solstice which Damon Szatkowski was driving did
not deploy.
18. This type of collision would and should typically deploy the airbags.
19. Unbeknownst to Damon Szatkowski, the 2006 Pontiac Solstice had a serious and
unreasonably dangerous defect with the ignition switch. Specifically, the ignition switch had the
ability to change from the “run” position to the “accessory” position thereby causing the engine to
lose power with a resultant loss of power to the steering, brakes, air bags, and other essential safety
functions of the car (the “Ignition Switch Defect”.) This defective condition directly resulted in a
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loss of power exactly at the time and place where Damon Szatkowski most needed these essential
functions.
20. The 2006 Pontiac Solstice driven by Plaintiff was one of the vehicles subject to a
recent recall.
21. The problem with the 2006 Pontiac Solstice driven by Damon Szatkowski was not
unique. To the contrary, it is a problem that eventually resulted in a recall notice being issued by
New GM for certain of its vehicles, including all 2006 Pontic Solstices.
22. At all material times, Defendant New GM was and is authorized to do business
throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and Luzerne County, which it does regularly and
for which it receives significant revenue. The subject vehicle, which, upon information and
belief, was designed, manufactured, tested, inspected, marketed, distributed, and sold by
Defendant New GM, was purchased by a Commonwealth of Pennsylvania resident (Plaintiff’s
uncle) from a Pennsylvania dealer, was registered in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and
was, at all material times, held out as a Pennsylvania vehicle with a Pennsylvania license plate
GM Issues Information Service Bulletins
23. Throughout 2005, Old GM received numerous field reports of vehicles losing
engine power when the key moved out of the “run” position. A proposal was approved to redesign
the key head, but later cancelled. Instead of recalling the vehicles to replace the defective ignition
switches, Old GM issued an Information Service Bulletin entitled the “Information on Inadvertent
Turning of Key Cylinder, Loss of Electrical System and No DTCs” (No. 05-02-35-007)
(hereinafter, the “Bulletin”). The Bulletin was issued to GM dealers warning about a stalling
problem related to inadvertent shifting of the ignition switch.
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24. The Bulletin recognized that there was a “potential for the driver to inadvertently
turn off the ignition due to low ignition key cylinder torque/effort.”
25. The Bulletin applied to the following vehicles – the 2005 and 2006 Chevrolet
Cobalt, the 2006 Chevrolet HHR, the 2005 and 2006 Pontiac Pursuit (Canada only), the 2006
Pontiac Solstice and the 2003 to 2006 Saturn Ion, which all had the same ignition switch.
26. In October 2006, Old GM updated the Bulletin (“Information on Inadvertent
Turning of Key Cylinder, Loss of Electrical System and No DTCs” (No. 05-02-35-007A))
(hereinafter, the “Updated Bulletin”) to include additional vehicle and model years. Specifically,
GM included the 2007 Chevrolet Cobalt, the 2007 Chevrolet HHR, the 2007 Pontiac G5, the 2007
Pontiac Solstice, the 2007 Saturn Ion and the 2007 Saturn Sky. The Updated Bulletin included the
same service advisories to GM dealers as the earlier version.
GM Belatedly Issues A Repair Recall Of Some Vehicles
27. On February 7, 2014, New GM filed a Part 573 Defect Notice with the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration (“NHTSA”) to recall 2005 to 2007 model year Chevrolet
Cobalt and 2007 Pontiac G5 vehicles (the “Feb. 7 Defect Notice”). The Feb. 7 Defect Notice stated
that the “ignition switch torque performance [in these vehicles] may not meet General Motors’
specifications”, resulting in the non-deployment of airbags in crash events. The notice called for
the recall of approximately 600,000 vehicles.
28. The Feb. 7 Defect Notice did not acknowledge that the Ignition Switch Defect could
occur under normal driving conditions.
29. The Feb. 7 Defect Notice also failed to indicate the full extent to which GM had
been aware of Ignition Switch Defect.
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30. Seventeen days later, on February 24, 2014, New GM issued a letter to NHTSA,
which amended the Feb. 7 Defect Notice to include a more detailed chronology. The chronology
indicated that GM first learned of the Ignition Switch Defect during the launch of the 2005
Chevrolet Cobalt from field tests by its engineers.
31. This latest letter furnished information dating back 10 years, and dealt directly
with New GM’s recall obligations and product warranties, which have been known to New GM
since July 2009.
32. The updated chronology, at a minimum, demonstrates GM’s knowledge, actions,
inaction, and conscious disregard related to the ignition switch.
33. On February 25, 2014, New GM again amended the Feb. 7 Defect Notice to expand
the recall to include additional models and model years, including 2003-2007 Saturn Ions, 2006-
2007 Chevrolet HHRs, 2006-2007 Pontiac Solstices, and 2007 Saturn Skys, bringing the number
of vehicles affected by the recall to more than 1.3 million.
34. On March 4, 2014, NTHSA issued GM a Special Order demanding that it provide
additional information on 107 specific requests by April 3, 2014, including information to
“evaluate the timing of GM’s defect decision making and reporting of the safety defect to
NHTSA.”
35. On March 11, 2014, GM filed a new Part 573 report superseding its February 25th
filing. The new chronology provided with the report indicated that GM was aware of the Ignition
Switch Defect in 2001—significantly earlier than its previous 2004 disclosure. GM now
indicated that it had a report from 2001 that revealed a problem with the ignition switch during
pre-production of the Saturn Ion.
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36. In a video message addressed to GM employees on March 17, 2014, CEO Mary
Barra admitted that the GM had made mistakes and needed to change its processes.
37. According to Ms. Barra, “Something went terribly wrong in our processes in this
instance, and terrible things happened.” Barra continued to promise, “We will be better because of
this tragic situation if we seize this opportunity.”
38. On March 28, 2014, the recall was expanded to include the following vehicles: