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New "FLIP" Suit Against Bridgestone/Firestone, Ford Motor Company And Jim Quinlan Chevrolet

16 January 2001

Woman Whose Explorer Flipped The Same Day She Bought It Files Suit Against Bridgestone/Firestone, Ford Motor Company And Jim Quinlan Chevrolet
      Virginia Gray Vs. Bridgestone/Firestone, Inc; Ford Motor Company;
  And Jim Quinlan Chevrolet Co., Now Known As Autoway Chevrolet-Clearwater
                       
                       
    TAMPA, Fla., Jan. 16 A woman whose Ford Explorer flipped
the same day she bought it filed a negligence suit Tuesday against
Bridgestone/Firestone, Ford and the auto dealer who sold her the vehicle,
according to the Tampa law firm of James, Hoyer, Newcomer & Smiljanich, P.A.

    Virginia Gray, 24, filed the lawsuit in federal court in Tampa.  Ms. Gray
bought the used Ford Explorer from Jim Quinlan Chevrolet in Clearwater in
September 1999, according to the lawsuit.  The Explorer was equipped with
Firestone 15-inch ATX radial tires.  Later that same day, the left rear tire
blew out on Interstate 4 near Orlando, causing the Explorer to roll over
several times.  The rollover occurred six hours and 140 miles subsequent to
the Explorer's purchase.  Ms. Gray was trapped inside the truck and had to be
cut out.  Ms. Gray, who is now a resident of Pinellas County, was injured in
the accident and has suffered emotional trauma as a result of the injuries
sustained in the accident.

    Mike Peacock, an attorney with James, Hoyer, Newcomer & Smiljanich, P.A.,
Ms. Gray's law firm, said that Ms. Gray, "had not been warned of known defects
in the tires, nor of the high incidence of accidents related to the use of
said tires on Ford Explorers.  It is unfortunate that Ms. Gray has suffered
injury in light of the clear pattern of Bridgestone/Firestone and Ford Motor
Company to conceal known information from the consuming public concerning the
inherent risks in the use of these tires."

    The lawsuit seeks damages in excess of $75,000.  The complaint alleges
counts of breach of express warranty of merchantability, breach of implied
warranty of merchantability, strict liability in tort, negligence in design
and manufacture, strict liability for failure to warn, and negligence for
failure to warn against Bridgestone/Firestone, Inc. and Ford Motor Company;
and alleges negligence against Jim Quinlan Chevrolet Company.