The U.S. Supreme Court has denied a request from General Motors Co. to hear its racketeering lawsuits against crosstown competitor Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, now known as Stellantis NV.
GM in January asked the justices to review its claims against FCA after the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in August affirmed a federal judge's decision to toss the lawsuit filed in 2019. The Supreme Court's decision not to hear the case lets the lower court ruling stand.
In a statement, Stellantis spokesperson Shawn Morgan said the company is "pleased that the U.S. Supreme Court has denied GM's latest attempt to resuscitate the baseless claims that GM has sought to bring in various forms in multiple jurisdictions. Today's decision upholding the district court's dismissal of GM's lawsuit is another reaffirmation that its claims are meritless. We will continue to defend ourselves vigorously against these allegations and we will not be distracted from our focus on competing and winning in the marketplace."
GM sued its competitor alleging FCA's late CEO Sergio Marchionne orchestrated a multimillion-dollar racketeering conspiracy that used bribes to corrupt three rounds of bargaining with the United Auto Workers in order to harm GM. The Detroit automaker has said it lost "billions" as a result of the alleged bribery conspiracy to boost GM's labor costs during negotiations with the UAW.
Stellantis in March urged the Supreme Court not to take up GM's racketeering lawsuit, arguing it was not warranted and that the legal question at issue wouldn't change the outcome in the case.
(Detroit News staff writer Breana Noble contributed.)
