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Court Rules in Favor of DaimlerChrysler Corporation

21 October 1999

Court Rules in Favor of DaimlerChrysler Corporation

                  Judge Tosses Out $500 Million Class Action

    AUBURN HILLS, Mich., Oct. 20 -- The following was released by
DaimlerChrysler Corporation :

    A Chicago judge this afternoon dealt a setback to frivolous class actions
by dismissing a lawsuit seeking more than a half a billion dollars in damages
for so called "noisy" engines.  Plaintiffs' lawyers filed a class action in
1996 on behalf of approximately 1.2 million owners of 1991 to 1995 Jeep
Cherokees with 4.0-liter engines.
    DaimlerChrysler Corporation Vice President and Associate General Counsel,
Lewis H. Goldfarb, praised the verdict, noting "common sense prevailed in our
legal system today.  Unfortunately, millions of dollars have been spent
proving the obvious:  it's okay for engines to make noise.
    "We've said from the very beginning that this case was about money for
plaintiffs' lawyers, not any defect with our product," said Goldfarb.
"Hopefully this decision will make class action lawyers think twice before
wasting courts' time on frivolous cases."
    After nine weeks of trial, Judge Thomas P. Durkin of the Illinois District
Court, Chancery Division, ruled this afternoon that plaintiffs failed to prove
their case.
    While their lawyers claimed "excessive noise," one of the plaintiffs
representing the class testified that this "noise" was no louder than the
"ticking of a clock."
    In addition, DaimlerChrysler proved there was no defect with the vehicles,
and the plaintiffs representing the class knew this because they drove a
combined 265,000 miles on their three vehicles without complaint.
DaimlerChrysler also proved that not a single engine out of the 1.2 million
vehicles involved in this case ever failed because of the alleged "defect".
    "This case is a poster-child for class action reform," Goldfarb said.
"Our legal system should protect responsible companies from abusive lawsuits,
instead of giving plaintiffs' lawyers a free shot at winning the litigation
lottery."