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The NAM filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court supporting manufacturers’ rights in a bankruptcy suit that attempted to hold General Motors liable for pre-bankruptcy claims. A lower court held GM liable for product liability claims arising from an ignition switch defect five years before the sale of the company’s assets in bankruptcy. This ruling will make it difficult for companies to receive value for assets in bankruptcy and unfairly places liability on parties without fault. The NAM’s brief argued that disallowing the “free and clear” sale provision undermines the integrity of asset sales in bankruptcy, negatively impacts debtors, creditors and buyers, and that the decision below also violates a technical provision in bankruptcy law that requires the issuance of a stay prior to revoking the “free and clear” finding in a sale order. Unfortunately, the Supreme Court declined to hear the appeal.