Advocates Urge Court: Keep Chrysler On Hook
5/21/2009
Source: By Mark Glover, The Sacramento Bee

Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety, the Sacramento-based nonprofit advocacy group, joined other consumer groups asking a federal bankruptcy court to maintain Chrysler LLC's liability in cases where consumers claim they suffered injury or loss in a defective Chrysler vehicle.

CARS was joined by Public Citizen, the Center for Auto Safety, Consumer Action and the National Association of Consumer Advocates in the filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.

The filing asks the court not to let a restructured Chrysler escape liability in connection with consumer claims of defective cars produced by the automaker, even as the struggling company works to get its financial house in order.

Public Citizen said the consumer groups "do not aim to delay the bankruptcy" but to give consumers filing claims an avenue of relief.

"Consumers are the only ones who can save Chrysler," said Rosemary Shahan, president of CARS. "Preserving their rights should be the first priority, not the last."

The consumer groups filed jointly with three people who have cases pending against Chrysler for injuries and deaths they allege were caused by defects in Chrysler vehicles.