Lisoni & Lisoni Cites CBS Report to Substantiate Claims That Firestone Involved in ``Cover-Up'' of Defective Steeltex Tires

PASADENA, Calif.--Feb. 9, 2004--Referencing a news report which aired on the "CBS Evening News" on Friday evening (February 6), Attorney Joseph L. Lisoni today reiterated today that Bridgestone/Firestone, Inc.'s Steeltex tire series is defective in both design and manufacturing and that the tire manufacturer is involved in a "cover-up" of these defects while also illegally destroying defective tires in violation of a court order.

Lisoni's Pasadena, CA-based law firm, Lisoni & Lisoni, filed a national class action lawsuit in August 2002 on behalf of consumers who contend that the Firestone Steeltex R4S, R4SII and A/T tires are unsafe due to defective design and manufacturing. The lawsuit alleges that these defects have led to massive tread separations which have caused numerous vehicle accidents resulting in deaths and injuries.

In its special report which aired Friday, the "CBS Evening News" reported that "questions are being raised" about the Steeltex tires and that it appears that Firestone is "trying to cover up a problem." The news report alluded to hundreds of letters that the tire manufacturer had sent out to customers saying that the allegedly defective tires they sent in "would be returned or destroyed," even though the latter would be a violation of an existing court order.

The news report cited an instance in which Firestone had claimed there were no defects in a set of tires sent in by a customer. CBS had Alan Hogan, an outside expert, analyze the tires. He reported that the damaged tires were defective and there were even cracks in the ones that hadn't malfunctioned yet, concluding that "they were a recipe for disaster."

Lisoni noted that it is significant that CBS sought Hogan's analysis as he is a former employee of Bridgestone/Firestone who was intimately involved with the manufacture of Firestone's ATX, ATXII and Wilderness AT tires. Hogan had previously testified before a federal grand jury which was investigating 270 deaths attributed to tread separations suffered by the recalled Wilderness tires.

Commenting on the report, Lisoni remarked: "This only validates what we have found to be true through our own investigations since we filed the class action lawsuit 18 months ago. It is unconscionable that Bridgestone/Firestone not only refuses to acknowledge that these tires are defective and recalls them, but it is clearly knee-deep in a program to deny that any problems exist and to cover up evidence of such defects by destroying tires."

Lisoni emphasized that it was becoming increasingly clear why Bridgestone, Inc., the co-defendant in the class action lawsuit, recently requested -- and was granted on January 29 -- a temporary stay from litigation in the lawsuit. "Considering that Bridgestone/Firestone North American Tire, LLC (aka Bridgestone/Firestone) is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Japanese tire manufacturer, that speaks volumes as to how it feels about this situation," he added.

As a result of the CBS news report, Lisoni said a motion was being prepared to submit to the California Superior Court requesting it reconsider its ruling on January 23 denying the plaintiffs' motion for sanctions against Bridgestone/Firestone for intentional spoliation of evidence. The motion will also request that a trial be scheduled as quickly as possible on damages.

Lisoni reported that the next major court action for the class action lawsuit will take place on February 25, 2004, when a hearing will be held in the Riverside Branch of the California Superior Court in Indio, CA, on a plaintiffs' motion to have the lawsuit classified as a national class action.

"It is important that Bridgestone/Firestone understand that this lawsuit will not go away, not as long as there are over 30 million Steeltex tires on the road whose defects have already proven to be a threat to the health and safety of the American public," Lisoni stressed. He added that more reports of tire failures from all over the country are coming into the lawsuit's website, www.firestonesteeltexclassaction.com on a daily basis.