NEW YORK: General Motors plans to ask a bankruptcy court to rule that it is protected from lawsuits arising from faulty ignitions tied to 13 deaths and numerous crashes.

The bankruptcy reorganisation, which came after the US government rescued the US automaker the previous year, split the company into “Old GM” and “New GM”.

The company’s said that the bankruptcy court’s original restructuring plan made clear that liabilities like the ignition-switch problem remain with Old GM and that third parties cannot sue New GM for them.