Chrysler Fined $800,000 for Not Recalling Some 1995 Cars

Chrysler Corp. was fined $800,000 for disobeying a federal government order to recall 91,000 1995 cars with faulty rear seat-belt anchors--the largest penalty imposed on an auto maker for violating safety rules.

U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan ordered Chrysler to pay the civil penalty, which was half the $1.6 million sought by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, according to court papers released Monday.

In the first legal challenge under the 1966 National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act, Chrysler sought to delay the recall of its Cirrus and Dodge Stratus cars. The nation’s third-largest auto maker argued that government safety engineers illegally changed test standards for determining whether rear seat-belt anchors would withstand pressure during accidents.

The Justice Department argued that the company should pay $800,000 for ignoring the recall and another $800,000 for failing to notify owners that their cars’ seat-belt anchors did not meet government standards.

Chrysler said it would appeal the penalty, saying it was “shocked and disappointed” by Sullivan’s decision.

Ricardo Martinez, the safety agency’s administrator, said: “Ensuring safety for all Americans is our top priority, and we are pleased that the court agrees. Manufacturers should respond promptly to safety recalls.”

Chrysler had called the case an important test of the government’s attempt to enforce a safety regulation after the cars had been manufactured and certified as safe. After nearly two years of litigation, a federal appeals court ordered the recall to proceed last March.

Chrysler argues that it followed test procedures it understood were in compliance with 1990 regulations.

The traffic safety administration said the 1995 cars made before May 15 that year were unsafe. Cars made after that date had reinforced seat-belt anchors.

The previous largest civil penalty against an auto maker for a safety violation was in 1978 when General Motors Corp. was ordered to pay $405,000 for Quadrajet carburetors that leaked fuel, posing a risk of fire.

Shares in Chrysler, which is being bought by the German auto maker Daimler-Benz for $42.9 billion, closed unchanged at $57.38 on the New York Stock Exchange.