United States v. General Motors (X-Car Lockup)

GENERAL MOTORS

Argued Oct. 6, 1987.

Decided March 8, 1988.

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Happily, two decisions of this court have furnished that pivotal term with more specific content. See United States v. General Motors Corp., ("Wheels "); United States v. General Motors Corp., cert. denied 434 U.S. 1033, 98 S.Ct. 765, 54 L.Ed.2d 780 (1978) ("Pitman Arms "). 561 F.2d 923 (D.C.Cir.1977) 518 F.2d 420 (D.C.Cir.1975)

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Where, as here, the Government's case is built on circumstantial evidence of performance failure, we are confronted with a starkly different situation from the scenarios in either Wheels or Pitman Arms. There, the record abounded with broken wheels and failed pitman arms. Both represented tell-tale, eloquent manifestations of a defect.

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