Bell Tolls for Car Owners in GM Ignition Suits

By Paul Barrett, Bloomberg News

A New York jury found Wednesday that General Motors Co.'s notorious ignition switch was unreasonably dangerous. But the jurors, handing up a verdict in a so-called bellwether lawsuit, added that the switch wasn’t to blame for the Louisiana accident at issue and declined to award the two plaintiffs any money.

Because we already know GM’s ignition switch was faulty, the zero-damages verdict adds up to a big victory for the carmaker — its second so far in the bellwether process.

Before going further, let’s clarify this bellwether business. GM still faces hundreds of suits blaming ...