AUTOS

Ford Wins Punitive Damages Reduction in Bronco Case: A court ruled that Ford Motor Co. need pay only $13.8 million of $58 million that a jury awarded two women who were injured in 1991 when their Bronco II vehicle overturned. Ford said it will appeal the ruling by Indiana Superior Court Judge David Rimstidt and that it should not have to pay any punitive damages. The No. 2 auto maker claimed the women were injured because one of them was driving recklessly, not because the vehicle was poorly designed. Lawyers for the plaintiffs, sisters Vicki Ammerman and Lana Cuskaden, reportedly will appeal Rimstidt’s ruling too, contending the original award should stand. In October, a state court jury in Indianapolis awarded the sisters $58 million in punitive damages and $4.4 million in actual damages. Rimstidt, in his ruling, reduced the award to $13.8 million based on the amount it would have cost Ford to retool its production lines to correct the alleged flaw, a Ford spokeswoman said.