(Bloomberg) -- General Motors Co. told a judge thatclaims in a $10 billion customer class-action over ignition flawsare “misleading” and should be dismissed.

The 68 named plaintiffs in the group lawsuit argue that thedesign defect and alleged concealment at the heart of the case arethe responsibility of the new GM, which was born after a 2009bankruptcy. Of those customers, the automaker argued, more than 44own cars manufactured by the old GM, and they should be told tofile claims with that company.

“The majority of named plaintiffs are asserting economic lossclaims for old GM vehicles that were resold by dealers or thirdparties (but not new GM),” the Detroit-based company said in a Nov.5 court filing in federal bankruptcy court in New York.

GM has recalled about 32 million cars this year, at a cost of$2.7 billion. A report by lawyer Anton Valukas found that GMengineers and lawyers knew about a switch defect for at least adecade before those cars were recalled. That led customers, who sayresale prices have tumbled since the cars were recalled forrepairs, to sue GM for exposing them to accidents and economicloss.

GM says 44 plaintiffs own cars made before its mid-2009bankruptcy or earlier, while 13 own model year 2010 vehicles, someor all possibly made by its predecessor, old GM. Only nine of thecustomers drive cars from model year 2011 or later. Two of theplaintiffs didn’t list their car’s model year in the suit.

Past Errors

GM’s argument marks the start of a process that will help U.S.Bankruptcy Judge Robert Gerber decide whether rulings he made in2009 are still valid. The automaker argues that Gerber freed itfrom responsibility for past errors when he approved the bankruptcyas part of a $49.5 billion U.S. bailout of GM. Customers arescheduled to respond by Dec. 16.

Gerber has said he’ll schedule a hearing in January and probablytake more than a month to make a “difficult” decision on GM’sliability to car owners.

About 130 car-price lawsuits against GM have been combined intwo class actions in Manhattan federal court. The smaller groupsuit is over cars made before the bankruptcy, while the larger one,which seeks $10 billion, is for automobiles purchased afterward.Combined, the suits seek compensation for almost 30 millionrecalled cars, of which 14.7 million were made pre-bankruptcy.

The automaker has denied that its cars have lost value since therecalls.

Price Declines

Even so, GM says isn’t at fault for any defects and pricedeclines in older cars, as it didn’t make them.

Steve Berman, one of the lawyers leading the group suit,disagreed.

“New GM sells a car in, let’s say 2011, with a known bad part,”he said in an e-mail yesterday. “Even if made by old GM, it’s newGM lying to consumers at this point, and we don’t believe they cantake refuge behind the bankruptcy of old GM.”

Earlier this week, the old GM creditor trust said that new GMhad wrongly “tried to inject it” into the legal battles. Itcouldn’t pay customers with faulty switches without hurtingexisting creditors, including lender JPMorgan Chase & Co., ittold Gerber in a separate filing.

The suit’s $10 billion demand is for penalties as well as moneyto cover price declines in recalled cars. The Old GM trustcalculates that plaintiffs want $7.4 billion of the total for valuelosses alone. Berman says that’s accurate.

The car-price suits are In re General Motors LLCIgnition Switch Litigation, 14-md-02543, U.S. District Court,Southern District of New York (Manhattan). The bankruptcy case isIn re Motors Liquidation Co., 09-bk-50026, U.S.Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).

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