GM also resolves civil lawsuits over ignition-switch defect

By Jessica Dye

NEW YORK (Reuters) - General Motors Co said on Thursday it has reached agreements to settle significant portions of the civil litigation brought against it over faulty ignition switches that prompted the recall of millions of vehicles and was linked to 124 deaths.

The deals were announced alongside GM's $900 million settlement with U.S. prosecutors to end a criminal probe into the switch problems. One would settle about 1,380 injury and death claims consolidated in New York federal court, and another would resolve litigation brought by GM shareholders who say the company lost billions in market value because of safety issues.

GM announced it would record a $575 million charge in the third quarter in connection with the civil litigation. The company and lead plaintiffs' lawyers declined to comment on the size of each settlement.

The agreements resolve "difficult claims without the burden, expense and uncertainty of litigation," GM Executive Vice-President and General Counsel Craig Glidden said in a statement.

A lead lawyer for civil plaintiffs, Robert Hilliard, said the agreement over injury and death cases was finalised late on Wednesday. "They wanted to move on as quickly as possible," he said.

Under this deal, eligible plaintiffs whose injuries occurred after GM's 2009 bankruptcy will submit their claims to a special master, who will determine the size of each individual award.

Plaintiffs bringing claims over pre-bankruptcy accidents will not be part of the settlement programme, said Hilliard. He called on GM to start negotiating with those plaintiffs, who face a tough road after a ruling earlier this year from a federal bankruptcy judge in Manhattan that post-bankruptcy "New GM" was not liable for the actions of pre-bankruptcy Old GM.

Also omitted from the settlement are six cases slated for early trials, with the first currently scheduled to begin in January.

GM has been grappling with a criminal probe and civil litigation since it discovered last year that some ignition switches in older vehicles could slip out of place, causing them to stall and cutting power to brakes, air bags and steering systems.

Since the ignition switch recalls began in February 2014, GM has been hit with more than 200 lawsuits consolidating claims from thousands of individuals. While the agreements will resolve a substantial portion of that, GM is still facing claims from GM customers who said their vehicles lost value as a result of the recalls.

(Additional reporting by Nate Raymond in New York; Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Matthew Lewis)