Suit Filed Against Ford Motor Company; Claims Defective Parts Led to the Death of a Mother & Daughter Traveling to Wedding

MT. PLEASANT, S.C.--Aug. 3, 20050, 2005--- Nationally known law firm, Motley Rice LLC, together with Edelman & Thompson of Kansas City, Missouri and the Strong Law Firm, P.C., of Springfield, Missouri, today announced that they have filed suit against Ford Motor Company alleging that known automobile defects led to the death of a mother and her daughter. The complaint was filed on August 23, 2005 in Circuit Court of Green County, Missouri on behalf of John Hollifield, father and husband of victims Brenda Hollifield and Kathy Hollifield, who were both killed in a motor vehicle accident involving the rollover of Ms. Hollifield's 1998 Ford Expedition. The action against Ford claims that their known defects in both the door latch system and safety restraints led to the death of these two women, and the plaintiff is therefore filing for negligence, breach of warranty, strict liability, fraud and pecuniary loss and damages.

According to the claim, on November 22, 2003 in Lincoln County, Colorado, Ms. Hollifield was driving the aforementioned Ford Expedition from Missouri to Colorado with her mother to prepare for her wedding which was to take place days later in Colorado. During the trip, the vehicle experienced a sudden loss of stability and control which resulted in uncontrollable steering and multiple rollovers. As a result of the vehicle's allegedly defective stability, safety restraints, and door latch mechanisms, both Kathy and Brenda Hollifield (who were properly wearing their seatbelts) were thrown from the vehicle and died. The claim alleges that Ford Motor Company was fully aware of the Expedition's faulty door latch assembly and seatbelt restraint system; yet has undertaken steps to fraudulently conceal this information from the general public, thereby threatening public health and safety.

"The death of Mrs. Hollifield and her daughter just days before her wedding is a tragedy. Unfortunately, this incident is not isolated and is one of many in which people have been killed or maimed by alleged defects in Ford Motor Company's vehicles and their component parts," said Motley Rice attorney Walter Harris. "It is time Ford stepped up to the plate and remedied this situation nationwide before more people are injured."

For more information on Motley Rice's vehicle defect litigation, please call 1-800-768-4026 or visit http://www.defectivedoor.com.

About Motley Rice LLC

Motley Rice LLC is one of the nation's largest plaintiffs' litigation firms. Motley Rice attorneys gained global recognition for their pioneering work on behalf of asbestos victims, the State Attorneys General in their landmark litigation against Big Tobacco, and the 9/11 families in their groundbreaking lawsuit against terrorist financiers. Motley Rice attorneys are currently representing clients in the Graniteville, S.C. train disaster and chlorine spill property damage case, two of the Ford defective door latch class action cases and continue to seek justice in the areas of: catastrophic injury; complex case resolution; consumer and commercial fraud; environmental hazards and contamination; medical negligence and medical device defects; occupational disease and toxic torts; aviation and other transportation defects and disasters. For more information on Motley Rice LLC call 1-800-768-4026 or visit http://www.motleyrice.com.