Lawsuit Filed By The Edwards Law Firm Alleges Ford Charged F-150 Buyers For Options They Never Recieved

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas, Oct. 30 -- The following press release is being issued jointly by The Edwards Law Firm, L.L.P., of Corpus Christi, Texas, and the Chicago law firm of Much, Shelist, Freed, Denenberg, Ament & Rubenstein, P.C.:

Ford Motor Company charged approximately 80,000 of its customers in Texas and 450,000 nationwide for upgraded heavy-duty radiators that they did not receive, according to a statewide class action lawsuit filed in the 28th Judicial District, Nueces County, Texas. A nationwide class action, Rodney Miller vs. Ford Motor Company, has been filed in the Circuit Court, Third Judicial Circuit, Madison County, Illinois. On Monday, Ford publicly admitted its wrongdoings and will offer its affected customers a choice between $100 cash, a $500 coupon good toward the purchase of another Ford, or replacement of the radiator, according to Reuters. Attorneys in the lawsuits say that Ford's response is inadequate.

``Ford's deception continues,'' said William R. (Billy) Edwards, III, of The Edwards Law Firm, L.L.P., Corpus Christi, co-lead counsel for the Texas Plaintiffs. ``First, Ford charged its customers for something that they did not receive. And when Ford learned of the problem, it continued to sell the trucks without the upgraded heavy-duty radiators. Now, six months after we filed the class-action lawsuit, Ford makes an offer that is inadequate. We are pleased that Ford finally is prepared to admit their mistake publicly, albeit after 450,000 customers have been denied what they purchased. Ford should take complete responsibility and at least offer free rental cars while the repairs are made. After all, its customers will have to disrupt their schedules and use their time to schedule repairs that should not have been necessary in the first place.''

Edmond Ocanas vs. Ford Motor Company was filed by Edwards and David Burkett, another Corpus Christi attorney, on behalf of consumers who purchased new 2000- and 2001-model Ford F-150 pick-ups with the ``Class III Towing Group'' or the ``Heavy-Duty Electrical/Cooling Group'' option packages. The consumers paid $350 to $400 each for the Class III Towing Group option package and $210 for the Heavy-Duty Electrical/Cooling Group option package. Both options were to include an upgraded heavy-duty radiator. Ford did not install the upgraded heavy-duty radiators on the vehicles. A nationwide class action lawsuit filed in Illinois by Edwards and co-lead counsel Steven A. Kanner, of the Chicago law firm of Much, Shelist, Freed, Denenberg, Ament & Rubenstein, P.C., makes the same allegations as the Texas lawsuit.

The 2000 Ford F-150 went on the market in September 1999, followed by the introduction of the 2001 F-150 a year later, in September 2000. In deposition testimony, Ford claimed that the company first became aware on September 29, 2000 -- more than a year after the 2000 model was introduced -- that the trucks were not properly equipped.

``Ford received customer complaints about the radiator before September 2000, yet Ford claims that they first learned about this problem on September 29, 2000,'' said Edwards. ``If they did not know about the problem until September 29th, they certainly should have.''

About 44 percent of the 500,000 F-150s that Ford sells nationwide every year have one of the two option packages that should include the upgraded heavy-duty radiator.

Kanner said that Ford had a contractual obligation to ensure that the upgraded heavy-duty radiators were installed on every vehicle that included the options package. Ford continued to sell the F-150s with the smaller standard radiators, charging customers for the upgrade, he said, for a full year after the time that Ford admits it was aware of the problem.

``Ford had the opportunity to respond appropriately to the problem on September 29, 2000, but chose not to,'' said Kanner. ``Instead, they kept everyone in the dark about the problem, including their dealers, and continued to sell the trucks without the upgraded heavy-duty radiators. Six months after a lawsuit was filed and it became clear that the problem was about to come to light, Ford offers to replace the radiators. While we appreciate their late admission of the problem, the response is incomplete.''

``Ford has not dealt straight with its customers, in fact, they have treated them with a complete lack of respect,'' Kanner continued. ``Now, they're trying to act like the good guys. They are asking people to take time off from their own responsibilities and give up their transportation so Ford can provide an after-market radiator, in lieu of a factory-installed radiator, as a patchwork solution to a problem that Ford created.''

Edwards said that about 450,000 F-150 owners nationwide soon will receive repair notices from Ford offering to replace the standard radiator with the upgraded heavy-duty radiator. According to Edwards, this response is inadequate because Ford is offering no rental car reimbursement to F-150 owners or any other compensation for the one to two days that they will be without their own vehicles while the radiators are being replaced.

``American consumers do not have to accept an inadequate remedy from Ford Motor Company -- they have a choice,'' said Edwards. ``The class-action lawsuits were filed on behalf of everyone who purchased a new Ford F-150 vehicle with one of these upgrade packages. The lawsuits will preserve their right to seek full compensation from Ford that includes not only the upgraded heavy-duty radiator that they already paid for, but also compensation for their inconvenience while the service work is performed.''

The Edwards Law Firm, L.L.P. has established a web site where consumers can access more information about the matter and follow the class action lawsuit, www.F150Radiator.com , or they can call (800) 305-9768 toll-free to get the same information.

CONTACT: Billy Edwards (800) 475-0971

SOURCE The Edwards Law Firm, L.L.P. and Much, Shelist, Freed, Denenberg,

Ament & Rubenstein, P.C.