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| To make an ongoing faulty ignition case easier to handle, a federal judge in Detroit has ordered GM and some of its affiliates to preserve any documents related to the company’s ignition switch recall.
U.S. District Judge Linda Parker was asked by the New York State Teachers’ Retirement System — the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit, which concerns the delayed recall of 2.6 million vehicles — to have GM’s affiliates hold onto these relevant documents. The pension fund, which is worth $108 billion in assets and covers 426,000 employees and retirees, claims that the faulty ignition switches have caused pensioners a “loss to the value of their investments.” Named by Parker and the pension fund were GM’s longtime auditor Deloitte and Touche; a former supplier of the ignition switch, Delphi Corp.; two lead underwriters for GM, J.P. Morgan Securities LLC and Morgan Stanley and Co.; rental car companies that used GM vehicles; and eight Wall Street analysts. So far, none of the firms have been asked to turn over any documents. As of April 13, the number of deaths thought to be related to the faulty ignitions in certain General Motors vehicles has risen to 84 total. In the past week alone, the number of eligible death claims climbed by four people, according to lawyers from GM’s compensation fund. The fund is operated by Washington, D.C., attorneys Kenneth Feinberg and Camille Biros. Individuals who have participated in the compensation fund, which stopped accepting claims on January 31, can take payouts for the recalls, but by doing so they waive their rights to sue GM. The number of confirmed injury claims rose from 148 to 157 in the past week, as well. Of the 4,342 total claims made against GM, there are just 1,136 left under review, down from 1,246 last week. Road crashes in the United States can cost around $230.6 billion per year (or an average of $820 per person). For the car companies that foot the bill for the repairs, the cost can reach into the billions for one simple defect. GM began recalling vehicles last year for faulty ignition switches, with 2.6 million vehicles eligible for the most recent recall. In total, GM has recalled about 30 million vehicles for a number of safety issues. Last year, GM became aware of a steering problem with its vehicles, resulting in at least 50 claims to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and thousands of fixes. The repair was made through a simple software update. |
Category: featured
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GM’s Faulty Ignition Switch Recall Gets Oversight from Federal Judge in Detroit
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Michigan’s Water Woes Go Far Beyond Detroit
Spring is in the air, which means that the snow is melting, birds are singing, and the Detroit Water Department is gearing up to send out shut off warnings — about 800 of them, in fact.
According to CBS News Detroit, Deputy Director Darryl Latimer says that the projected number of shut offs is actually not as bad as it was at this time last year. The department didn’t send notices last year, but chose to do so this year in an effort to offer better service. The notices will be sent mid- to late-April to residential customers with delinquent accounts.
Last year, nearly half of Detroit’s residential water accounts were delinquent — about 150,000 out of 323,900. The shut offs were in such high numbers by summer 2014 that it caught the attention of the United Nations and also sparked protests in the city.
What’s alarming about 2015 is that though there are fewer slated shut offs, residents may have a harder time paying their delinquent bills. The Detroit utility board just approved tax hikes on water and sewer services last month — a 3.4% increase for water and a 16.7% increase for sewer.
Sewer systems in Detroit have seen their fair share of troubles as well — like last year’s 10 billion gallons of sewage overflow and deteriorating sewer systems in residential areas, many of which need replacing. Experts say that pipe bursting, a form of trenchless sewer line repair, can come with warranties that last up to 50 years.
Other infrastructures in Michigan that deliver water and sewer services to customers are also in trouble.
After Flint left the Detroit water system last year, the city began using a backup water system which was unfamiliar and uses a new method of filtering the water. This has resulted in the delivery of caustic, foul-smelling, undrinkable water to Flint homes. While the Flint system affects homeowners, the Detroit system is overburdened by lack of payment.
As of now, there’s no clear solution to either problem.
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Buyer Beware: Despite Low Prices for Detroit’s Foreclosed Homes, the Houses Might Already Be Occupied
Foreclosed homes may seem cheap in Detroit — sometimes as low as $500. But experts warn that they come with hidden costs, including the payment of back taxes, and maybe even a few surprises for buyers. According to mapping company Loveland Technologies, which has surveyed every property in Detroit, there are approximately 100,000 Detroit residents living in foreclosed homes.
Some of these individuals are the former owners of the property, many of whom were unable to pay Detroit’s property taxes for the few services the city does offer. Detroit has the highest property taxes of any city in the United States, set by now-outdated assessed home values.
Others may have been longtime tenants, and some, the company said, may even be squatters.
Mary Wilbur, a 46-year-old homemaker, is one of those squatters.
Wilbur and her 17-year-old daughter, Claire, live in a 1920s-era house in an area now called Fireweed Universe City, a so-called self-sustaining community filled with artists and activists. The house is part of the Grixdale Farms neighborhood, which was once known for drug crime and now is home to more than 500 vacant buildings.
Wilbur and her daughter moved into the home two years ago after going through a divorce and losing her home to foreclosure; Claire had chosen to stay with her mother rather than live with her father instead. In the U.S., where around 40 to 50% of marriages end in divorce, the child custody arrangement isn’t unusual, but the living situation is.
The City of Detroit used to give legal protections to squatters, insisting that the home’s owners were responsible for evicting residents. But in September 2014, the law changed, and now police are able to force squatters from the homes and arrest them on the spot.
A few Detroit residents have gotten creative with repossessing or revitalizing homes.
Darin McLeskey, who buys, sells and develops real estate in the city, took a “cheaper, easier and more amicable” route with a squatter rather than evicting the man. He and the squatter of an uninhabited home made a “cash for keys” deal, and McLeskey got the house from the man for $300.
Back in October, an Austrian man named Nik Gindelhuber made a deal to buy a house in Detroit as an investment property in exchange for an iPhone 6.
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Denver City Council Imposes Stricter Rules on Non-Licensed Pot Growers
The City and County of Denver’s Department of Safety and Well-Being’s recent unanimous approval of an amendment to its municipal code will bring major changes to non-licensed marijuana growers.
According to a March 4 Denver Westword article, the amendment places a 36-plant maximum limit per 3,000 square feet on any non-residential, non-licensed marijuana growing zone within the city. Licensed marijuana cultivation facilities are exempt from the limit.
Because Colorado law allows all adults over 21 to grow up to six marijuana plants for recreation, many people choose to grow their six plants cooperatively in large, warehouse-like spaces. The 36-plant limit on these non-licensed warehouses was put in place to prevent health and safety hazards like overloaded electrical systems, blocked emergency exits and mold growth, among others.
The amendment, bill request 15-0109, received co-sponsorship from the Denver Fire Department. Along with forklift truck-related hazards, which are responsible for about one in four warehouse accidents, fire also poses a major safety risk, especially in a warehouse filled over its capacity with marijuana plants and electrical systems.
Currently, Colorado’s fire codes for its marijuana industry are largely based on the International Fire Code; none of the Denver Fire Code’s chapters offer any specific provisions for the industry. Fire codes vary by type of marijuana business, as well, between labs, dispensaries, grow facilities and manufacturers of infused product, FireEngineering.com reports.
The Department of Safety also drafted the amendment in an attempt to crack down on the black market and support licensed growers; currently, as much as 40% of Colorado’s cannabis supply comes from non-licensed growers.
Luke Ramirez, who owns a marijuana dispensary in Denver, said non-licensed growers are able to profit by selling their product on the black market, avoiding taxes and compliance requirements, the Westword reports.
If found to be violating the amendment’s terms, penalties up to one year in prison and a $999 fine would be given.
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Detroit Water and Sewer Services Will Soon Get Another Price Hike
Last summer, tens of thousands of Detroit residents had to deal with a disruption to their water service — and while this service has since been restored, it’s about to get a lot more expensive. According to CBS Detroit, officials from the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department recently approved an average rate increase of 9.3% for water customers living in the city and its suburbs.
The Board of Water Commissioners unanimously approved the rate change, which will go into effect for the 2015-16 fiscal year starting in July. These price changes will help fund a proposed $1 billion plan for capital improvements and long-needed repairs over the next five years, such as unclogging older sewer lines primarily obstructed by tree roots.
The rate increase varies depending on where one lives. Those living within Detroit’s city limits will pay 3.4% more for water and 16.7% more for sewer services. For suburban residents, there will be an 11.3% increase for water and 1.1% for sewer services.
These are significant rate increases — especially considering the fact that water rates have gone up by 119% over the last decade. It’s easy to see why many residents can’t afford these costs for such a basic staple of life. Currently, Detroit’s residents pay $75 per month for their water, compared to the national average of $40 per month, according toNext City.
Detroit’s water problem, in which the city cuts off water service to homes that have outstanding balances regardless of whether they have the means to pay them or not, has even captured the attention of the United Nations for its draconian nature.
“Disconnection (of water service) due to non-payment is only permissible if it can be shown that the householder is able to pay but is not paying — in other words, that the tariff is affordable,” a UN representative said.
Activists are currently calling for the establishment of a water affordability program that would give low-income houses in Detroit a way to have access to water without going through financial hardship, Next City reports.