Edwards Law Firm Announces Class Certification of Lawsuit Filed on Behalf of 80,000 F-150 Owners Against Ford

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas, Jan. 3 -- The following press release is being issued by The Edwards Law Firm, L.L.P.:

A Nueces County District Court has granted class certification of a lawsuit filed against Ford Motor Company on behalf of some 80,000 Texas owners of Ford F-150 trucks, alleging that Ford charged the vehicles' owners for equipment that they did not receive.

``This is an extremely positive development for the Plaintiffs,'' said William R. (Billy) Edwards, III, of The Edwards Law Firm, L.L.P., Corpus Christi, co-lead counsel for the Plaintiffs. ``It is difficult to attain class certification under today's laws. Obviously, the Judge scrutinized the facts of the case carefully and determined that this case is best treated as a class-action that benefits all who purchased trucks in Texas, rather than have them each file individual lawsuits.''

Edmund Ocanas vs. Ford Motor Company was filed last April by Edwards and David Burkett, another Corpus Christi attorney, and Steve Kanner of Chicago, on behalf of approximately 80,000 Texas 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. Ocanas, a Corpus Christi resident, is the Class representative in the case.

The F-150 owners paid $350 to $400 each for the Class III Towing Group option package and $210 for the Heavy-Duty Electrical/Cooling Group option package. Although Ford Motor Company represented to consumers that 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., on behalf of about 450,000 F-150 owners across the United States makes the same allegations as the Texas lawsuit.

Ford has publicly admitted its wrongdoings and has offered affected customers a choice between $100 cash, a $500 ``Owner Loyalty Certificate'' good toward the purchase or lease of a new Ford, or replacement of their existing radiators with the upgraded heavy-duty radiator (though Ford says it will take months for a radiator to be replaced and it would take years to replace them all). Ford recently mailed a slick promotional brochure outlining these options to approximately 145,000 F-150 owners who are potential Class members. Included in the mailing was a negotiable personal check for $100. The brochure advises owners that, by cashing the check, they waive their eligibility to receive either of the other options.

Edwards cited a passage in Ford's recent mailing that explains to F-150 owners that they did not receive the heavy-duty upgraded radiator that Ford represented to be included in the Heavy-Duty Electrical Cooling System Package -- and for which they paid -- due to ``a publication error'' in the auto manufacturer's sales materials.

``Ford's mailing makes it sound as if the company was completely unaware that the trucks they were selling were not equipped as represented, but the evidence shows otherwise,'' said Edwards.

Evidence shows that Ford received customer complaints about the radiator, which indicates that the auto manufacturer knew about the problem, yet did nothing to correct it. Instead, Edwards said, Ford ignored its contractual obligation to ensure that the upgraded heavy-duty radiators were installed on every vehicle that included the options packages and continued to charge customers the full price for the upgrade packages that they did not receive.

``Ford's mailing is misleading,'' Edwards said. ``What appears to be a good-faith attempt to make the F-150 owners whole is a thinly veiled effort to gloss over the facts of the case and induce owners to do something that may not be in their best interests. When all the facts are known, the mailing is merely a furtherance of the deceptive course that Ford has taken since it first received complaints from consumers that they did not receive the upgraded equipment for which they paid.''

All persons who purchased new model year 2000-2001 F-150 vehicles in Texas that included either the Class III Towing Group or the Heavy-Duty Electrical/Cooling Group are members of the Class. Edmund Ocanas vs. Ford Motor Company seeks for consumers considerably more relief than Ford Motor Company has indicated a willingness to give. The class action seeks to recover the costs of replacing owners' existing radiators with the upgraded heavy-duty radiators, damages for the loss of the use of their vehicles during the time it takes to replace the radiators, and additional damages under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act (DTPA).

``We have crossed a major hurdle in attaining class certification,'' said Edwards. ``Accepting one of the options offered by Ford does not exclude consumers from the Class. F-150 owners potentially have a great deal to gain as members of the Class.''

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, http://www.f150radiator.com/ , or they can call (800) 305-9768 toll-free to get the same information.