$60 Million Ford Explorer Rollover Verdict Is Overturned

The Florida Court of Appeals overturned a $60 million dollar verdict and ordered a new trial in a case against Ford based upon an allegatino that an Explorer SUV was defectively designed because it was too prone to rollovers.  Seventeen-year-old Lance Hall was ejected from the vehicle and killed after the driver fell asleep and lost control of the vehicle which then rolled over four times.  His parents filed suit for the death claiming that defects in the vehicle's design caused it to roll over instead of skid.  The appellate court found that the trial judge had erred by allowing testimony alluding to hundreds of Ford Explorer accidents without first determining that those other accidents bore a substantial similarity to the one in which Hall died.  See Billy Shields' story for Daily Business Review.

JDP