Ford Settles Texas Suit in Rollover
One day before the trial was to begin, Ford Motor Co. said Tuesday that it reached a settlement in a lawsuit involving a rollover accident of a Ford Explorer with Firestone tires.
Specifics of the agreement were not released.
Margarita Gonzalez, 59, died last year when the Explorer she was in crashed near Kerrville after the tread separated on a rear tire. Her son, Alfredo, who was driving the vehicle at high speed, was left with brain damage.
Her husband, five children and mother were seeking unspecified damages for wrongful death, malice and gross negligence.
The family already had settled with Japanese tire maker Bridgestone/Firestone Inc.
“Our condolences go out to the Gonzalez family. We respect the right of privacy to the family and do not discuss details of any settlement,” Ford spokeswoman Kathleen Vokes said.
Although Ford “prefers” to settle cases out of court, “if we had to go to trial the opportunity to present the facts would allow us a chance to once again to show real-world statistics that the Explorer is one of the safest vehicles on the road,” Vokes said.
A 12-member jury was selected Sept. 11 and the trial was scheduled to begin today.
Ford and Bridgestone/Firestone have settled hundreds of claims over accidents involving Explorers with Firestone tires, and hundreds more are pending.
Separately, a circuit judge in Detroit rejected a request by lawyers representing several Ford managers to get court supervision of the auto maker’s plan to cut up to 5,000 white-collar jobs.
The managers are suing the company for age discrimination, alleging they were passed over for promotions or forced out in favor of younger or so-called diversity candidates.
“He made it pretty clear he didn’t want to get involved,” Ford attorney Robert Powell said of Wayne County Circuit Judge Edward Thomas.
Michael Pitt, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said court supervision was sought because the plaintiffs were concerned that Ford managers being offered separation packages would be the same people who received a negative score on evaluations. He said there would be no challenge to the ruling.
