South Carolina Lawyer Accuses Kenneth Starr of Perjury and Obstruction of Justice

Strategic Insights -

A South Carolina lawyer, J. Kendall Few, has filed a motion accusing independent counsel Kenneth Starr of perjury and obstruction of justice while he worked for General Motors Corp three years ago. The allegations stem from claims that Starr helped cover up engineering reports about fuel-tank explosions in GM pickup trucks. Few's motion claims that Starr, as a GM attorney, counseled the author of the Ivey Memo, Edward Ivey, to lie about it during a South Carolina trial.

Key Takeaways:

  • The Ivey Memo, a brief cost analysis of fuel-tank explosions in GM cars, was written by GM engineer Edward Ivey in 1973 and estimated GM's cost for fuel tank fires at $2.40 per vehicle.
  • The memo was seen by GM lawyers, who urged it never to be publicized, despite Ivey's testimony in 1981 that he never gave the memo to GM executives.
  • GM and the federal government settled the pickup truck fuel-tank dispute in 1995, costing the automaker $50 million.
  • J. Kendall Few, the South Carolina lawyer representing a plaintiff in a GM fuel-tank case, has filed a motion accusing Kenneth Starr of perjury and obstruction of justice.
  • The motion claims that Starr helped cover up engineering reports about fuel-tank explosions in GM pickup trucks.
  • The allegations have been referred to the private law firm of Kenneth Starr and the Office of the Independent Counsel.

Statistics:

  • The cost of fuel tank fires in GM cars was estimated at $2.40 per vehicle by the Ivey Memo.
  • The cost of preventing fuel tank fires was estimated at $2.20 per vehicle by the Ivey Memo.
  • GM settled the pickup truck fuel-tank dispute in 1995 for $50 million.
  • The motion filed by J. Kendall Few names the U.S. Attorney General, the Assistant U.S. Attorney in Columbia, S.C., and members of the Senate Judiciary Committee as parties to be informed of the allegations.

Sources:

  • "South Carolina Lawyer Accuses Kenneth Starr of Perjury and Obstruction of Justice", United Press International, 1998.
  • "Ivey Memo" and internal GM documents released in a Florida trial.
  • Testimony of Edward Ivey in 1981.