Mary Barra recently said that the worst of the recall problem was behind the company. However, a recent court ruling may change that outlook.

General Motors has suffered a legal setback as plaintiffs have gained wider access to the company’s internal documents involving the defective switch that has been now been blamed for 21 deaths and the recall of more than 2.6 million GM vehicles.

In a ruling that will increase GM’s legal bills, if nothing else, a federal judge in Manhattan is allowing plaintiffs to begin the process of “discovery” in cases filed in the switch-related civil suits against GM. Discovery can proceed in cases involving accidents that occurred after GM emerged from bankruptcy in the summer of 2009.

U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman in the Southern District of New York said plaintiffs could begin requesting documents from the company related to accidents, injuries and lost vehicle value linked to the switch that allegedly occurred after GM emerged from bankruptcy in 2009.

The plaintiffs claiming injury have also asked for access to corporate documents going all the way back to the original decisions involving the switch nearly a decade earlier. However, GM’s lawyers have argued claims from accidents prior to the company’s bankruptcy are barred by federal bankruptcy laws.

A bankruptcy judge in New York is expected to rule next year on whether the pre-bankruptcy claims can go forward. GM is counting on the bankruptcy judge ruling in its favor that will quash the claims. Otherwise, GM’s legal bills for the recall, which already stand at $1.6 billion, could climb.

As it stands, lawyers for the various plaintiffs will have access to same trove of documents that are being poured over by federal prosecutors and congressional investigators, increasing the potential for more embarrassing revelations about the decisions made by GM’s engineers and executives.

GM Chief Executive Officer Mary Barra continues to insist the worst of the recall controversy is behind the company. But the legal proceedings are far from settled and the number of deaths linked to recall continues to climb.

The company has been hit by more than 100 lawsuits from customers who claim that the recalls caused the value of their vehicles to plummet, as well as hundreds of claims on behalf of people injured or killed in accidents they said were caused by the faulty switch. Most of the lawsuits have been consolidated in the U.S. District Court in Manhattan.

(Feinberg ups death toll from GM switches to 21. For more, Click Here.)

GM asked Furman to delay discovery while it waited for a ruling from a bankruptcy judge over whether some claims were blocked by the terms of its July 2009 sale order, which the company said barred suits involving pre-bankruptcy incidents, according to wire service reports for the judge’s ruling.

(Click Here for details about Cadillac’s move to NYC.)

The bankruptcy judge is not expected to rule until 2015. In the meantime, plaintiffs’ lawyers said they should be allowed to move forward on the post-bankruptcy claims and that any delay would unnecessarily delay the cases.

The discovery process focuses on requesting documents from the company.

(To see more about Cadillac’s pending blitz of new products, Click Here.)

The depositions or testimony of GM engineers and executives will be delayed for now but GM and plaintiffs’ lawyers should work out a “reasonable, but aggressive schedule” for handing over the material, according to the judge’s ruling. However, the depositions will be allowed.

A spokesman for GM declined to comment. One of the lead lawyers for plaintiffs, Robert Hilliard, said he was pleased with the order, which he said indicated “the court will insist this case move quickly and efficiently over the next few months.”