Then-FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne, left, is seen with Jeep brand President and CEO Mike Manley at the Jefferson North Assembly Plant, in Detroit in 2010.Carlos Osorio / The Associated Press General Motors hit Fiat Chrysler Automobiles with a blockbuster racketeering lawsuit November 20, alleging bribery and corruption that has sent union and company leaders to jail ultimately cost GM billions of dollars by tainting labor contracts as far back as 2009.GM filed suit in federal court in Michigan on Wednesday seeking to recoup unspecified damages from its rival, which has in the past denied being aware three former executives conspired with United Auto Workers officials to undermine labor law.GM strikes at the heart of that defense, alleging the late Fiat Chief Executive Officer Sergio Marchionne himself authorized bribes with the ultimate aim of weakening a competitor and forcing a merger.Fiat Chrysler said its astonished by the suit and speculated that GM may be trying to undercut a planned merger with Frances PSA Group and active negotiations with the UAW over a new labor contract. We intend to vigorously defend against this meritless lawsuit and pursue all legal remedies in response to it, the company said in an emailed statement. GM alleges Marchionne, who died last year, and the former company officials corrupted the collective bargaining process between the UAW and Detroits three automakers in 2009, 2011 and 2015. That resulted in unfairly high labor costs for GM, putting the company at a competitive disadvantage, Craig Glidden, the automakers general counsel, told reporters during a briefing at the companys Detroit headquarters.The multi-year bribery scheme FCA led undermined the integrity of the collective bargaining process and caused GM substantial damages, Glidden said, referring to Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. The attempted merger with PSA has no bearing on GMs complaint, he said.Competitive EdgeThe suit targets Fiat Chrysler and former company officials who pleaded guilty and were sentenced to prison for their roles in the corruption scandal, including Al Iacobelli, who had served as vice president and lead UAW negotiator.Competitive advantages provided to Fiat Chrysler but denied to GM included a higher portion of lower-paid workers, a streamlined grievance process and looser limits on use of temporary employees, according to GM.‘Fat, Dumb and Happy’Federal prosecutors have said Fiat Chrysler executives provided gifts aimed at keeping union officials fat, dumb and happy as part of a widening probe that dates back at least two years. Earlier this month, UAW President Gary Jones took an indefinite leave of absence after reports tied him to the scandal. Federal agents raided his Detroit-area home in August.Jones has not been charged in the case, and the UAW has said previously he was not involved in any wrongdoing.Iacobelli, who unexpectedly left Fiat Chrysler in June 2015 just before the start of UAW contract talks, has said that while serving as the automakers head of labor relations, he helped funnel $1.5 million from a worker training center to union officials, who spent the money on lavish gifts for themselves including jewelry and designer clothing.Shortly after Iacobelli pleaded guilty early last year, the UAWs then-president, Williams, denied the negotiations with Fiat Chrysler had been influenced by the diversion of
Origin: GM sues Fiat Chrysler, alleging corruption undermined its UAW deals
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Trump administration sues California over its emissions deal with Quebec
Traffic jam in Los Angeles at sunsetGetty The Trump administration is suing California and its all our fault (although were not saying sorry). The lawsuit against the state, filed on Wednesday, is over an agreement California made with Quebec in 2013, to link the two governments via a cap-and-trade emissions-trading program.The U.S. federal government has been fighting with California over its environmental strategies for some time, and in this latest skirmish, said its because the agreement violates the U.S. Constitution, which doesnt allow states to enter into treaties or pacts with foreign governments.The state of California has veered outside of its proper constitutional lane to enter into an international emissions agreement, said Jeffrey Bossert Clark, Assistant Attorney General of the U.S. Justice Departments Environment and Natural Resources Division.The power to enter into such agreements is reserved to the federal government, which must be able to speak with one voice in the area of U.S. foreign policy. Californias unlawful cap-and-trade agreement with Quebec undermines the Presidents ability to negotiate competitive agreements with other nations, as the President sees fit, Clark said. Under the cap-and-trade system, companies that emit large amounts of greenhouse gas must purchase credits in relation to their pollution output. In Quebec, automakers are required to sell a specified number of zero-emission vehicles. If they do not meet the minimum, they must purchase credits, either from the provincial government or from other automakers with extras to sell.Unique among the U.S. states, California has the ability to set its own emissions standards that can be more stringent than the federal standards. This dates back to the 1970s, when the state was granted a waiver so it could clean up its smog.Other states can choose to follow either the federal regulations, or those of California which doesnt seem to make Trump, who has traditionally favoured businesses over environmental concerns, very happy.Quebec premier Franois Legault said he would prefer that California remain in the agreement, but that the program will continue in the province even if the state leaves. He also said other states have shown interest in being part of the program.California governor Gavin Newsom said Trump going after a five-year-old program is about a political vendetta against California, and that this latest attack shows that the White House has its head in the sand when the comes to climate change, and serves no purpose other than continued political
Origin: Trump administration sues California over its emissions deal with Quebec
Father sues Tesla, saying son’s fatal fiery crash should have been survivable
A fiery crash that killed two California teens is being blamed on batteries, according to multiple lawsuits from the victims families.James B. Riley, the father of the driver, is now suing Tesla for the crash, which the lawsuit alleges should have been entirely survivable, according to the Detroit Free Press.In May of 2018, Barrett Riley and his friend Edgar Monserratt died after he lost control of his fathers Tesla Model S at 187 km/h. Another friend was thrown from the car and survived.The family of Edgar Monserratt had already filed a similar lawsuit against Tesla in January. Both of the suits blame the cars lithium-Ion battery pack for the occupants deaths, since it exploded upon impact with the brick wall. They said and wrote and published that they were going to compensate by putting this fireproofing material in but they never put the fireproofing material in, Riley said. Tesla intentionally removed safety features that engineers intentionally put in those (battery) cells to protect property and protect life.The vehicle originally had a speed limiter installed after Barrett got a speeding ticket for doing 177 km/h. The lawsuit also says the accident occurred because the speed limiter was removed without their consent or permission.According to a statement from Tesla issued earlier this year about the accident, no car could have withstood a high-speed crash of this kind. According to the Rileys, Barrett was uninjured due to the crash, and it was the fire that ensued that killed
Origin: Father sues Tesla, saying son’s fatal fiery crash should have been survivable
Carlos Ghosn sues Nissan-Mitsubishi for millions in damages
Carlos Ghosn is reported to have launched a lawsuit against Nissan and Mitsubishi after he was removed as chairman of the alliance last year on charges of financial misconduct. Dutch newspaper NRC claims Ghosn is seeking £13.5m (€15m) in damages in a Netherlands case, with his lawyer claiming proper procedure was not followed when the two Japanese companies ousted the chairman. “In the Netherlands, if you want to fire an executive you have to first tell him what he’s being accused of, and you have to provide him with the evidence for the accusations. Neither of those things has happened,” lawyer Laurens de Graaf told the paper. The case is being reviewed but a trial date has not been set. So far, Ghosn has launched no cases against his other former employer, Renault, as he resigned from the French firm’s board of his own accord. Ghosn, who has been charged with a number of financial misconduct offences, was planning to tell the world his side of the story via a press conference earlier this year, and created a Twitter account to inform the public. The next day, however, he was re-arrested by Japanese authorities, before being freed on a £3.6m bail later that month. He has since regularly repeated his claims he is being framed by Nissan executives and is innocent of the charges against him, including understating his income over five years by £34 million. The 65-year-old was dismissed from his role as Nissan’s chairman after he was arrested last November. But he officially remained on the firm’s board until a vote in Tokyo in April. Greg Kelly, the former Nissan special director who was arrested at the same time as Ghosn, was also sacked. Renault chairman Jean-Dominique Senard was added to the board, as part of an effort to stabilise the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance following Ghosn’s
Origin: Carlos Ghosn sues Nissan-Mitsubishi for millions in damages
‘Aladdin’ star sues Tesla after he claims wheel flew off car
Mena Massouds Tesla Model 3, following a wreck September 2018TMZ It would seem Aladdin has more on his mind lately than foiling the villainous Jafar. According to a report from TMZ, star actor Mena Massoud is instead busy taking legal action against Tesla, claiming the car company is at fault for a crash last year. The entertainment website reports that Massoud alleges the right-front wheel of his then-new Tesla Model 3 suddenly “crumpled” and flew off the car. This, he says, caused him to lose control and hammer the formerly useful electric sedan into a particularly stout tree along the edge of Hollywood Boulevard. Pictures posted by TMZ show a wrecked Model 3 crumpled up like a discarded chip bag, and a destroyed wheel tire assembly. Now, unless our eyes deceive us, that assembly includes a brake caliper and various front suspension parts, all of which are rare to just shear off a car without warning. Keyboard warriors are quick to lay blame in both directions, with some spouting their belief Teslas are poorly made and others thinking there’s no way a wheel and tire combination spontaneously abandons the car onto which it was bolted. At this point, it would appear that it’s up to the courts to figure that one out. There is no mention if Autopilot was engaged. The lawyer cited by TMZ as representing Massoud, Kevin K. Javidzad, is listed as working for the offices of Colony Law in Los Angeles. His practice focuses on, among other things, personal injury matters. For its part, Tesla has been cranking up production of its volume model in the months since Massoud bought his car in September. With the new Model Y scheduled to roll off assembly lines and the flagship Model S sedan due for an interior restyle, Tesla has its hands quite full. (Image from
Origin: ‘Aladdin’ star sues Tesla after he claims wheel flew off car
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