Ford/Firestone Spared a Consolidated Product Liability Suit By Robert Warne - May 10, 2002
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Last week a Federal appeals court denied the class action status of product liability claims against Ford Motor Co. and Bridgestone/Firestone Corp. This is the outcome that Ford and Firestone had hoped for.
The May 2 decision by the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago overturned an earlier ruling that allowed two class action suits—one for Ford Explorer owners and one for owners of the Firestone Wilderness tires.
The court decided it was not possible to lump all the product liability claims into a single trial because of various state laws and the nature of the claims. Because of the ruling, more than 3 million Ford Explorer owners between 1991 and 2001 and 15 million Firestone tire owners now would each have to file separate suits.
The consolidated product liability case that was dismissed didn’t include any of the personal injury claims against the automaker and tire manufacturer. The class dismissed was for financial loss only claims.
Adjuster / Examiner Claims Examiner Santa Ana Unified School District Santa Ana, CA
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