Spyker files a three billion dollar lawsuit against General Motors

[nordwulf]

Zeewolde, the Netherlands, 6 August 2012 -- Spyker N.V. ("Spyker") announced that it has filed a complaint against General Motors Company ("GM") in the United States District Court of the Eastern District of Michigan today at 08.00 AM EST. Spyker filed the complaint in its own right and on behalf of its 100 percent subsidiary Saab Automobile A.B., which was declared bankrupt on December 19, 2011.

This lawsuit seeks redress for the unlawful actions GM took to avoid competition with Saab Automobile in the Chinese market. GM’s actions had the direct and intended objective of driving Saab Automobile into bankruptcy, a result of GM's tortiously interfering with a transaction between Saab Automobile, Spyker and Chinese investor Youngman that would have permitted Saab Automobile to restructure and remain a solvent, going concern. The monetary value of the claim amounts to US$ 3 billion (three billion US dollars).

Since Saab Automobile is in receivership and hence incapable to contribute to the costs of litigation, Spyker and Saab Automobile have entered into an agreement pursuant to which Spyker will bear the costs of such litigation in exchange for a very substantial share of Saab Automobile’s award when the proceedings are successful. Spyker has secured the financial backing required to see the lawsuit through to the end from a third party investor.

Victor R. Muller, Spyker's Chief Executive Officer said: "Ever since we were forced to file for Saab Automobile's bankruptcy in December of last year, we have worked relentlessly on the preparation for this lawsuit which seeks to compensate Spyker and Saab for the massive damages we have incurred as a result of GM's unlawful actions. We owe it to our stakeholders and ourselves that justice is done and we will pursue this lawsuit with the same tenacity and perseverance that we had when we tirelessly worked to save Saab Automobile, until GM destroyed those efforts and deliberately drove Saab Automobile into bankruptcy."

The Complaint, as filed this morning at 08.00 EST, can be found here: link

Source: press release

[Hirsch]

Talk about David taking on Goliath.

I hope they win, they do seem to have a pretty good case. GM did everything they could to destroy Saab.

GM recently said they were making money. What they didn't tell you is that the government still owns 1/3 of GM and that GM's high sales are because the Government is buying GM vehicles almost exclusively.

[nordwulf]

Three billion dollars is probably enough to restart Saab. It'll be interesting to follow but probably will take a long time. I doubt they will get the full 3 billion if they win but any amount will be a victory. Go Victor, go!

[SaabWorld]

Filed under: Government/Legal, GM, Saab, Earnings/Financials, Spyker


"Smack." That's the sound of Spyker's process server dropping a big ol' pile of legal documents on the doorstep of The Renaissance Center, home of General Motors - or wherever GM's attorneys live during business hours. Contained therein is a Complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan and demanding a jury trial, that seeks $3 billion in damages due to "the unlawful actions GM took to avoid competition with Saab Automobile in the Chinese market." Spyker accuses GM of "tortiously interfering" with Saab's business relationship with Chinese automaker Zhejiang Youngman Lotus Automobile (Youngman), actions that Spyker CEO Victor Muller (above) said "deliberately drove Saab Automobile into bankruptcy."

(From Wikipedia: "Tortious interference, also known as intentional interference with contractual relations, in the common law of torts, occurs when a person intentionally damages the plaintiff's contractual or other business relationships.")

The interference in question specifically refers to the very last potential deal, called the Framework Agreement, that Spyker worked out with Youngman. With lots of GM engineering embedded into the 9-4X and 9-5, The General had the right to approve any Saab partnership that would involve the transfer of GM intellectual property. Spyker had been rebuffed over every previous deal with a Chinese firm, including two bids by Youngman, due to GM concerns over its IP getting into Chinese hands and having to face Chinese-market competitors using its technology. The Complaint alleges that the Framework Agreement would have put a firewall around all GM IP - Youngman would only work on Saab's Phoenix platform, said to be just about free of GM tech, and would have no access to 9-3, 9-4X or 9-5 technology until after Saab ceased all ties to GM.

Thoretically, as stated in the Complant, this should have spared Saab the need to even ask GM for permission to make the deal outlined in the Framework Agreement since it didn't involve any transfer of GM technology. GM felt differently and repeatedly, publicly proclaimed that the Framework Agreement couldn't proceed without GM's say-so, which GM would not give, and that led Youngman to walk away. It is those public proclamations by GM that Spyker alleges as tortious interference. That's the basics, but there's a lot more to be discovered in the 27-page Complaint, which can be found here.

Muller said they've been working on preparing the lawsuit since bankruptcy was declared last year, and with a view to a lengthy and heinously expensive court battle, Muller's golden touch with securing money has come through yet again: a third party has furnished Spyker with the "backing required to see the lawsuit through to the end." There's a press release below announcing the move, otherwise known as "the first shot."Continue reading Spyker files $3 billion lawsuit against General Motors over Saab's demise
Spyker files $3 billion lawsuit against General Motors over Saab's demise originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 06 Aug 2012 10:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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[peter vanhulle]

yes Victor, very good, way to go. And if you win, please put SAAB back on track !!

[Dave T]

The bulk of any settlement or judgment will go to Spyker, not Saab. This may help the production of Spykers but will not restart Saab. Unless this 3rd party investor has well funded the legal costs, I predict GM will settle and VM will not get too much.

[#1SAAB12-17-11]

Glad to see GM is getting hauled into court and I hope it costs them even more in bad publicity than whatever damages Spyker might collect. Frankly I doubt Spyker will win much of anything, but keeping a bright light shining on the incompetence of GM seems well in order... and as Hirsch pointed out earlier, they've degenerated into hardly more than the American politicians' house organ for Detroit and UAW interests... everyone else in America is getting screwed.

Screw 'em right back. I'll never buy another GM vehicle again. No stupid "Americana" ad campaign for Chevy will change my mind either.

[rpiereck]

Yeah, GM ain't getting my money either, especially since their most interesting cars aren't even sold in the US, like the new Chevy Cruze Wagon, or the Chevy Orlando. As much as I hate Chevys and GM the Cruze Wagon is very good looking and a car that makes sense. Oh well.

[T Henry]

GM forced Saab into Bankruptsy even as they were being bailed out. Shameful at the very least and soon to be criminal.
If SAAB is re born, they will be minus their most innovative technology. Thanks to GM piracy, the new SAAB will need to reinvent the car born from jets. Not a problem. GM may have the innovations. SAAB will have the innovators.

[nordwulf]

GM dismissed the claim. Well, that's a surprise.. It's not like anyone expected GM was going to say something like "Yes, we're sorry and we'll be happy to send you a check of 3 billion dollars.

From Reuters:

GM dismisses claims in Spyker's $3 bln lawsuit over Saab

General Motors Co on Friday dismissed claims made in a $3 billion lawsuit filed by Saab's parent that the U.S. automaker deliberately bankrupted the Swedish company by blocking a deal with a Chinese investor.

GM, in a response filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, said the automaker had the legal right to approve Saab's transaction with China's Zhejiang Youngman Lotus Automobile Co.

"The nub of plaintiffs' complaint is that GM declined to approve the transaction plaintiffs proposed to enter into with Youngman," GM said in the filings. "But the relevant contracts did not permit Saab to consummate the proposed transaction without GM's approval."

GM had previously said the lawsuit -- filed last month by Saab parent Spyker -- was without merit.

Saab, one of Sweden's best-known brands, stopped production in May 2011 when it could no longer pay suppliers and employees. It went bust in December, less than two years after GM sold it to Dutch sportscar maker Spyker.

GM's efforts to kill any sale were made to eliminate a potential rival in China, Spyker had said in the lawsuit.

Spyker Chief Executive Victor Muller said at the time that GM "had it coming" with regard to the lawsuit. Spyker is seeking at least $3 billion in compensatory damages, as well as interest and punitive damages, and legal fees.

For months, Muller tried to pull off a rescue deal with various Russian, Middle Eastern and Chinese investors, Youngman and Pang Da Automobile Trade Co Ltd.

The lawsuit is being funded by an anonymous third party, who will share in any settlement, Muller has said.

Youngman previously declined to comment about whether it was involved with the lawsuit, while Pang Da said it was not.

GM, which operates in China in a partnership with state-run automaker SAIC Motor Corp Ltd, late last year effectively blocked deals with Pang Da and Youngman, Spyker said.

GM said it would stop supplying vehicles and technology to Saab's new owners because it would run counter to the interests of its own shareholders.

Spyker charged GM with interfering in a prospective deal with the Chinese companies by claiming it would no longer license its technology to or build cars for Saab even though the last agreement was structured to exclude the U.S. automaker's intellectual property, according to the lawsuit.

Saab had created its own vehicle platform that did not use any GM technology, so GM's statements that it would not support a deal were "intentionally false" because such support was not needed, Spyker said in the lawsuit.

In its response on Friday, GM dismissed the idea that its technology would not be shared with the other investors under the proposed Spyker deal.

"Putting aside whether this argument is factually wrong, it misses the point," GM said, adding that it had the right to terminate its technology license and supply agreements with Saab if there was a change in control of Saab with GM's prior consent.

"This right was clear and absolute, and did not depend on how GM's technology purportedly was being handled," GM said.

GM bought half of Saab -- which had been making cars since 1947 and built a small, loyal following -- in 1990 and the rest 10 years later. It decided to sell the brand in 2009 after the financial crisis and came close to closing it before Swedish Automobile, then called Spyker Cars, bought Saab in January 2010.

Despite its well-known name, Saab was a niche player whose future had been questioned by analysts. Saab was profitable in only one of the 19 years GM owned it, executives with the Detroit automaker have said.

A consortium called National Electric Vehicle Sweden AB (NEVS) earlier this month closed a deal to buy most of Saab's assets for an undisclosed sum. NEVS plans to build electric cars for the Chinese market based on the Saab vehicle platforms, starting in about 18 months.