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SUV Rollover and Tire Safety Litigation Coverage Expanded by LitWatch

    ALEXANDRIA, Va.--Sept. 27, 2002--LitWatch is expanding its coverage of sport utility vehicle ("SUV") rollover and tire safety litigation.
    LitWatch, which is the premier litigation news service, is expanding coverage of lawsuits filed in state and federal courts against tire producers, like Bridgestone/Firestone, and auto manufacturers, like Ford Motor Company. This expanded coverage has been triggered by the demise of the multi-district federal class action, now on appeal to the US Supreme Court.
    Individual SUV rollover and tire failure cases are now proceeding simultaneously in many separate state and federal courts.
    "The federal courts have declined to handle this as one organized case, which means that it's every plaintiff's lawyer for himself. This will be the Oklahoma land rush of this decade, with hundreds of cases, seeking billions of dollars in damages, filed throughout the United States," said John W. Toothman, Editor-in-Chief of LitWatch. Toothman notes that "Something unique about these cases is the conflict between the automotive and tire industries, which makes every case a potential land mine for both."
    An example of this expanded coverage is the trial transcript from the recently-settled Hernandez case from LA County Superior Court, in California, the first case against both Firestone and Ford to go to trial against both. That case settled in the middle of trial for an undisclosed amount after key testimony was admitted from Jacque Nasser, former Ford CEO, and from another Ford official.
    This key information includes admissions that Ford was aware that 6.5 million Firestone tires were defective and that using a replacement would have cost just 10 cents more per tire. LitWatch is the first news organization to publish this testimony, which should be used in every subsequent Ford SUV case. The transcripts themselves are available to LitWatch subscribers.
    Paul Pien, LitWatch's Marketing Vice President, adds that "LitWatch will provide a single source for information about these cases so lawyers and industries affected by this litigation can extract what they need from the chaos. LitWatch's attorney-editors have litigation experience, so we can tell what's significant and what's not. Besides the basic facts, we add expert analysis and make the actual litigation documents available through our web-site."
    LitWatch normally covers all significant business litigation in real-time and links its stories to actual litigation documents. For these cases, LitWatch will include additional coverage of those cases that might lead to important rulings, new litigation tactics and strategies, and disclosure of significant evidence.

    Company Background: LitWatch is a litigation news service publishing real-time analysis of significant business litigation. LitWatch subscribers receive email alerts when news breaks and a daily email summarizing recent headlines. LitWatch also publishes actual litigation documents.
    In addition to the legal community, LitWatch subscribers include the investment and financial industry, insurance companies, business consultants, and other news outlets. More information about LitWatch can be found at LitWatch.com.

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    URL: www.LitWatch.com