In re General Motors Company Securities Litigation

Labaton Keller Sucharow serves as Lead Counsel in a securities class against General Motors Company (GM), Cruise LLC (Cruise), and certain GM and Cruise officers (collectively, Defendants).

On January 24, 2024, Labaton Keller Sucharow filed a securities class action lawsuit (the Complaint) on behalf of its client City of Hollywood Police Officers’ Retirement System (Hollywood Police) asserting claims under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder, on behalf of all persons or entities who purchased or otherwise acquired GM securities between February 10, 2021, and November 8, 2023, inclusive (the Class Period).  The Complaint expanded upon a related action against GM by extending the initial class period of February 2, 2022, to October 26, 2023.

On February 28, 2024, the court consolidated the two actions, appointing Labaton Keller Sucharow as Lead Counsel and Hollywood Police as Lead Plaintiff.

GM is a multinational automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan.  Cruise is GM’s global business segment responsible for the development and commercialization of autonomous vehicle (AV) technology.

The Complaint alleges that Defendants repeatedly touted the state and capabilities of Cruise’s AV technology.  For example, Defendants claimed that Cruise’s AV technology had reached “Level 4” autonomy, which is a reference to the five levels of autonomy defined by the Society for Automotive Engineers Taxonomy, and touted regulatory permits Cruise had received because of this purported achievement.  This technology, according to Defendants, meant that Cruise could already operate a revenue generating Level 4 robotaxi business without any additional research and development.  Indeed, Cruise operated hundreds of AVs throughout the United States during the Class Period, most notably in San Francisco where Cruise offered purportedly Level 4 robotaxi services.

The Complaint further alleges that unbeknownst to investors, Cruise’s AV technology was nowhere near as advanced as Defendants claimed.  Instead, Cruise’s AVs were highly dependent on remote operators, faced an enormous number of safety issues, struggled with basic requirements of safe driving, and routinely stopped in traffic or became dangerously stranded.

In October 2023, a Cruise AV struck and grievously injured a pedestrian.  Following this incident, the Complaint alleges that Defendants doubled down to further hide the truth by misleading the public about the circumstances of the crash and the status of Cruise’s AV technology—claiming that the Cruise AV came to a “complete stop” immediately after hitting the pedestrian, when in reality the AV slowly dragged a pedestrian for approximately 20 feet, causing severe injuries.

The truth was revealed over a series of corrective disclosures in October and November 2023, during which Defendants eventually revealed the true nature of the October 2023 crash, Cruise’s driverless permits in California were revoked, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced it was investigating numerous safety incidents, and Cruise paused its driverless operations and issued a recall impacting its entire fleet of 950 AVs across the United States.

On March 28, 2025, Labaton Keller Sucharow largely overcame GM’s motion to dismiss, allowing key claims to proceed.  The ruling found that Plaintiffs plausibly alleged that GM, Cruise, and certain executives misrepresented Cruise’s AV technology and details of the October 2023 crash.

The consolidated case is In re General Motors Company Securities Litigation, No. 4:23-cv-13132-SDK-EAS (E.D. Mich.).