In the Wheels Blog on the New York Times website Christopher Jensen wrote, “Lawyers for Fiat said on Tuesday that in taking over a bankrupt Chrysler, it would be an unfair burden if Fiat had to be responsible for product-liability lawsuits filed over vehicles built by the old Chrysler.” He adds that “this means even if a court awards them a substantial sum, they have to compete with the other unsecured creditors to receive the money.” Also, “another issue was that most of the people who already have product-liability suits find themselves among the unsecured creditors” and that “‘being among the unsecured creditors mean they will get ‘little if anything,’ according to Richard A. Zitrin, who teaches legal ethics at the University of California’s Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco.”
From the American Association for Justice news release.
