U.S. Supreme Court Will Not Review Ford/Firestone Ruling

By

WASHINGTON, Jan 13, 2003; James Vicini writing for Reuters reported that the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday let stand a ruling that threw out nationwide class-action status for product liability claims by millions of owners of Ford Motor Co. Explorers and tires made by Bridgestone Corp.'s Firestone unit.

The justices handed a victory to the automaker and the tire company by declining without comment to review the ruling by a U.S. appeals court in Chicago that a single trial would be unmanageable.

The claims at issue do not involve any injuries or deaths, although federal regulators have linked rollover accidents involving Explorer sport utility vehicles and Firestone tires to 271 deaths and more than 800 injuries.

Plaintiffs are seeking compensation for diminished resale value of the vehicles, for paying more than the owners should have for vehicles that could roll over, for tires that could lose tread, and for being put at risk of death or serious injury.

The appeals court ruling affected more than 3 million owners of the Explorers made between 1991 and 2001 and the owners of about 60 million Firestone tires.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs alleged the companies knew the tires and vehicles were defective, causing "enormous economic loss to purchasers."

A federal judge in Indianapolis initially allowed two different classes to proceed, one for owners of the Explorers and the other for buyers of the Firestone tires.

CLASS ACTION WOULD BE UNMANAGEABLE

The appeals court said a class-action lawsuit would be unmanageable because a number of differing state laws applied and the case involved too many products sold over a long period, with various circumstances involved.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs appealed to the Supreme Court. They said the appeals court was wrong in ruling that no class action is proper unless all litigants are covered by the same legal rules.

John W. "Don" Barrett, one of the lawyers for the plaintiffs, said the high court's decision disappointed but did not surprise him because it is very difficult to get the justices to review a case.

"Eventually Ford and Firestone are going to have to meet us in a courtroom, which is of course what they are terrified to do, because we are going to beat them," Barrett said.

Months ago, he said, the plaintiffs had set up an alternative plan to bring a national class action in state court. "We have cases filed in several states," he said, "and we're proceeding to have them certified."

Ford spokeswoman Kathleen Vokes called the Supreme Court's decision not to hear the case a "victory for consumers."

"It confirms that safety decisions should be made by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, not trial lawyers," she said. "No-injury cases should not be heard as class actions, especially in this case, because Ford and Firestone have already replaced million of tires at their own expense."

Dan MacDonald, spokesman for Bridgestone's North American subsidiary, said he was pleased by the high court's action.

"Many of these people owned tires that were part of the recall and ended up with a full new set of tires at no cost," he said. "These no-injury claims are frivolous, not appropriate for class status, and would only serve to further clog the courts."