GM amends lawsuit against San Francisco bringing total to $121M

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect that the original GM lawsuit was filed in 2021 and the most recent update is an amended version of the claim.

General Motors (GM) has filed an amended lawsuit against San Francisco, looking to recover $108 million in taxes and $13 million in interest that the company alleges the city unfairly imposed starting in 2016.

The updated case, filed Friday in the California Superior Court and the County of San Francisco, claims the city charged the company higher taxes than was warranted because it factored in its Cruise self-driving car division, linking it to a $3 billion global revenue, though the company says it is operated separately than GM.

The Detroit-based auto giant is also seeking nearly $13 million in interest and penalties plus interest for the tax issues from 2016 until 2022.  

GM originally filed a claim in 2021 looking for a refund for the 2016 through 2020 tax years. The company amended the claim in 2022 and added the 2021 tax year.

The recent filing asks for a refund for 2016 through 2022 and amended the claim for 2020 and 2021, the company said.  

Although Cruise is headquartered in the city and was purchased by GM in 2016, the company said its operations and revenue models are different and agreements have been made where the two entities are operated “at arm’s length.”

The amended lawsuit said the company generated minimal sales in San Francisco in 2022, about $677,000 worth of goods, and that it has a limited presence in the city with no employees, manufacturing plants, or physical locations or dealerships.

Reached for comment, City Attorney Office deputy press secretary Alex Shorter-Barrett said the office is “reviewing the complaint and will respond in court.”

The CEO of Cruise resigned in November after the self-driving fleet was pulled from the streets to update its software after a series of collisions. Safety concerns were brought up after an Oct. 2 crash in which a Cruise vehicle pulled a pedestrian to the side of the road after the person was hit by another car and pushed into the path of the autonomous car.

California rescinded Cruise’s driverless permits and said they are not safe for public operation.

Bloomberg first reported on the amended lawsuit.

—Updated on Jan. 3, 2024 at 7:47 a.m.