Press Release: General Motors Blasts $150 Million Jury Award

06/05/96

DETROIT, PRNewswire -- General Motors Corp. today denounced a
$150-million jury award to an Alabama man injured five years
ago when he lost control of his Chevrolet Blazer after falling
asleep on his way home from a visit to a local club.
Calling the award "completely outrageous" and "a crushing 
blow to the concept of individual responsibility," the nation's
No. 1 auto maker renewed its call for Congress and the White
House to aggressively address tort reform by setting reasonable
national standards for the award and the amount of personal
damages.

Alex Hardy, the driver of the Blazer, was seriously injured
when he fell asleep at the wheel and lost control of his truck
at about 3 a.m. on August 3, 1991 while driving through the
tiny community of White Hall, Ala.

Soon after the crash, Hardy admitted that he had fallen 
asleep at the wheel after drinking a few beers.  After
consulting with his lawyers, Hardy began to blame the accident
on mechanical problems rather than his own drinking and driving.
Yet, in courtroom testimony, he admitted that he was not
wearing a seat beat at the time of his accident.

During the trial, General Motors' experts vigorously denied
the plaintiff lawyers' claim that the accident occurred when
Hardy's 1987 Blazer went out-of-control because its right rear
wheel and axle suddenly broke.  His lawyers argued that Hardy's
serious injuries were caused by a defective door latch that
allowed the  drivers-side door to open and Hardy to be ejected.
GM said expert analysis of the wrecked Blazer showed 
conclusively that the axle and rear wheel broke as a result of
the crash and were not the cause of it.  The analysis also
indicated that Hardy was injured when, unrestrained by his
seat belt, he was ejected through a window. Doors that come
open during rollover crashes almost always sustain severe
damage.  The driver's-side door of Hardy's Blazer suffered
little significant damage, and, indeed, still fits and latches
today.

Every bit of U.S. government safety data on highway crashes
indicates the GM door latch performs as well or better than
those on similar vehicles manufactured by other leading auto
makers.  Plaintiffs at trial presented no evidence to the
contrary.

A General Motors spokesman pointed out that Alabama leads 
all 50 states in awarding excessive punitive damage awards,
according to rankings by Jury Verdicts Research.