Ford Gets a Break in Class-Action Case
Ford Motor Co. won at least a temporary reprieve Friday in a big statewide class-action case when an Alameda County, Calif., judge refused to award $3 billion to millions of vehicle owners and left the question of damages to a jury.
The ruling by Superior Court Judge Michael E. Ballachey sets the stage for a retrial next fall of claims that Ford must compensate current and former owners of vehicles that are prone to stalling because of a defect that Ford improperly concealed.
The ruling is the latest and, for Ford, the most favorable in the long-running case, which involves an electronic component that controls the flow of electric current to the spark plugs. The device, called the Thick Film Ignition module, was installed in 22 million Ford, Lincoln and Mercury cars and trucks built from 1983 to 1995.
In an unprecedented decision in October, Ballachey ordered the recall and repair of the estimated 1.7 million affected vehicles that are still on the road in California. Replacing the suspect components in those vehicles and reimbursing owners who have replaced the device themselves are expected to cost Ford more than $200 million if the recall order is upheld on appeals. A court-appointed referee is still ironing out details on how the recall and reimbursement program will work.
Plaintiffs on Friday also had asked Ballachey to award $1,000 apiece to the estimated 3 million original or current California owners of vehicles with the suspect component, or $3 billion in all.
A mistrial was declared in November 1999, when jurors deadlocked on whether Ford had violated the California Legal Remedies Act and should pay damages for failing to disclose the defect. Jurors had voted 8 to 4 and 7 to 5 in favor of holding Ford liable for violations of the law, but a 9-3 margin was required.
“We . . . think it’s an appropriate ruling,” said Ford spokeswoman Kathleen Vokes. “The first jury did not find us liable,” and this “again gives us a chance to show that the vehicles are safe.”
Vokes said Friday that though vehicles covered by the suit have operated an average of 120,000 miles apiece, most still have the factory-installed TFI module and “are running fine.”
Plaintiffs’ attorney Jeffrey Fazio said he was disappointed and confused by the ruling, “but he’s the judge and I’m a lawyer. I have to respect his decision.”
Ballachey’s recall order in October was a first. On a few occasions, federal courts have enforced recall orders by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the federal vehicle safety agency. But Ballachey was the first judge--federal or state--to initiate a recall
order. Ford contends that only NHTSA can do this, which will eventually be an issue on appeal.
