Explorer Design Defective, Jury Says

A Superior Court jury ruled Thursday that Ford Motor Co.’s Explorer sport-utility vehicle is “defective by design,” in what was thought to be the first time the auto maker was found liable for manufacturing and shipping a faulty Explorer model.

A Barstow jury ruled 10 to 2 on Thursday evening in favor of Agop and Catherine Gozukara, whose four-door 1994 Ford Explorer rolled over on a California highway three months after they bought it in 1997. Agop Gozukara suffered severe leg injuries in the accident and his wife was paralyzed for life, their attorneys said.

“This is the first time in history that a jury has found this vehicle to be defective in design, in that it has a propensity to roll over,” said Garo Mardirossian, attorney for the plaintiffs.

However, Mardirossian said, the jury determined that damages will be paid by the dealer that sold the used Explorer--not Ford--and by the California Department of Transportation.

A Ford spokesman said he was unfamiliar with the case and could not immediately comment. Plaintiffs’ lawyers said the portion of the trial in which financial damages are set will begin Tuesday.

Ford has struggled with issues related to its best-selling Explorer SUV since August 2000, when the U.S. unit of Japanese tire maker Bridgestone Corp. said it would recall 6.5 million Firestone tires fitted mainly on Explorers. Ford later said it would replace all 13 million Firestone Wilderness AT tires on its vehicles because of “substantial failure risk.”

The U.S. government has said that more than 200 people have died in accidents linked to the tires or to Ford vehicles. Ford claimed the safety problems at issue were caused by Firestone tires, while Firestone blamed the accidents on the Explorer.

The Barstow jury ruled not only that the Ford Explorer model involved in the case was defective but that it was faulty when Ford shipped it, according to a release issued by the plaintiffs’ attorneys.

Ford’s redesigned 2002 four-door Explorer posted rollover ratings comparable with those of other SUVs, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported last fall. A separate NHTSA investigation found that the rollover risk for Explorers was no greater than for other SUVs during incidents of tire tread separations or blowouts.

Elsewhere, Ford said it has ordered dealers to stop selling many of its 2002 Ranger pickups because of a problem with the rear axle.