Kenneth B. Moll & Associates, Ltd. Announces That Ford has Recalled 13 Million Tires Requested in Worldwide Class Action Lawsuits Filed Last Year

    CHICAGO--May 22, 2001--Kenneth B. Moll & Associates, LTD. commends Ford Motor Company's recent decision to put safety before profits in announcing that it will replace an additional 13 million Firestone tires currently being used on Ford Explorers.
    Previously, on August 9, 2000, Bridgestone/Firestone announced a voluntary recall of 6.5 million ATX, ATX II and Wilderness AT tires. Firestone, however, continues to deny that it should recall any additional tires. There are alleged to be over 174 deaths and 700 injuries reported as a result of dangerous and defective Firestone tires on Ford vehicles.
    On August 28, 2000, Kenneth B. Moll & Associates, Ltd. filed its Worldwide Class Action against Ford, Bridgestone and Bridgestone/Firestone seeking, among other things, the recall of these additional 13 million tires.
    On October 24, 2000, the Judicial Panel on Multi-District Litigation Ordered that all cases pending in Federal Court be transferred and consolidated before one judge in Indianapolis, Indiana. During this litigation, over 6.5 million pages of documents have been produced, which include several hundred depositions. Kenneth B. Moll "believes that Ford's decision to replace these defective and dangerous tires is a direct result of the pressure against the company through evidence uncovered in this litigation."
    Ford announced today that it will replace all Wilderness AT tires, including 15, 16 and 17 inch tires on Ford Motor Company products. Customers will be able to return the recalled tires to a Ford dealer and receive free replacement tires not manufactured by Firestone. Alternatively, customers will be reimbursed for replacing these recalled tires at specified tire replacement centers. Customers will receive up to $110 for each 15 inch tire and $130 for each 16 or 17 inch Firestone tire. The reimbursement plan is available for customers who previously replaced their Wilderness AT tires that were not included in the August 8, 2000 Firestone recall and for owners of Ford Explorers, Rangers, Expeditions and F-150 trucks equipped with Wilderness AT tires. It is estimated that all 13 million tires may be replaced over the next 9 months at a cost to Ford of $2.1 billion.
    Attorney Kenneth Moll said, "Ford has made the correct decision that will help protect millions of people. The replacement program comes as we approach the warmer summer months when, historically, most of the reported cases of tread separations have occurred. The additional 13 million recalled tires are the exact tires we requested be recalled in August, 2000 when we filed our original complaint. Unfortunately, the delay in recalling these tires may have resulted in the deaths of over 86 people."
    Additional information is available upon request.