A class action lawsuit accusing General Motors LLC of concealing an engine defect that caused vehicles to experience sudden loss of power was filed Friday in Texas federal court.

The class action lawsuit was filed just one day after the Center for Auto Safety revealed that more than 300 fatalities from car accidents could be traced back to GM models that were recently recalled due to faulty ignition switches. Nearly 1.4 million vehicles were allegedly part of the recall. According to the class action lawsuit, the models affected by the recall include 2005-2007 Chevy Cobalt, 2007 G5 Pontiac, 2003-2007 Saturn Ion, 2006-2007 Chevy HHR, 2006-2007 Pontiac Solstice and 2006-2007 Saturn Sky vehicles.

Plaintiffs Daryl Brandt and Maria Brandt filed the class action lawsuit on behalf of themselves and a class of consumers who owned or leased the recalled GM vehicles as of Feb. 7, 2014. The plaintiffs own a 2007 Chevy Cobalt that was subject to the ignition switch recall.

According to the class action lawsuit, on February 7, GM issued a Defect Notice to recall the Chevy Cobalt and Pontiac G5 vehicles, stating that the “ignition switch torque performance in these vehicles might not meet General Motors’ specifications resulting in the non-deployment of airbags in crash events.” On February 24, GM issued a notice to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which significantly expanded the recall.

The plaintiffs allege that GM had been aware of the GM ignition switch defect for at least a decade. “In 2004, before the launch of the 2005 Cobalt, GM became aware of incidents wherein the vehicle engine would suddenly lose power in the event the key moved out of the ‘run’ position when the driver inadvertently contacted the key or steering column,” the class action lawsuit says. “An investigation was opened and after consideration of lead-time required, cost and effectiveness of potential solutions, the investigation was closed and no action taken.”

According to the class action lawsuit, GM continued to receive reports of vehicles losing engine power when the key moved out of the “run” position. Although a repair was proposed, GM never issued a recall to repair the defective switches. Instead, GM issued a Safety Bulletin that acknowledged the potential for a driver to accidentally turn off the ignition while driving.

“Given the vast number of instances of sudden engine power loss and non-deployment of airbags related to the defective ignition switch and GM’s knowledge of many or all of the instances, GM should have aggressively developed a remedy years ago,” the class action lawsuit says. “GM failed to do so. In fact, its first recall was not implemented until 2014, nearly 10 years after instances of engine power loss.”

The class action lawsuit accuses GM of “mishandling” the ignition switch defect, even after receiving numerous reports of accidents, injuries and fatalities associated with the affected vehicles. The plaintiffs seek damages for the loss of use of their vehicles, reimbursement for out-of-pocket costs, diminution in resale value of the vehicles and injunctive relief.

The plaintiffs are represented by Robert C. Hilliard, Rudy Gonzales Jr., Catherine D. Tobin, T. Christopher Pinedo, John B. Martinez, Kimberly Wilson and Marion Reilly of Hilliard Munoz Gonzalez LLP.

The GM Ignition Switch Defect Class Action Lawsuit is Daryl Brandt, et al. v. General Motors LLC, Case No. 2:14-cv-00079, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Corpus Christi Division.