Michigan Court Issues Verdict in Ford Explorer Rollover Death

SOUTHFIELD, Mich., Aug. 11, 2005 -- A Michigan Court found Ford Motor Co. liable for the death of a woman in a 2000 rollover accident in a Ford Explorer, but in an unusual move determined Ford did not have an alternative to its defective roof design, creating an inconsistent verdict.

The Aug. 2, 2005 verdict by Bay County Circuit Court Judge William J. Caprathe in the death of Christine Mary Glaeser is in stark contrast to an almost identical case in Florida in which a jury recently returned the same verdict of negligence by Ford and found roof collapse to be the cause of death, but awarded the dead woman's family $10.2 million.

"The Bay County verdict is not only inconsistent, but in violation of Michigan legal principle that says that if a company's product is determined to be defective and the cause of death, there must be an alternative design," said Bob Tyler, a senior shareholder with Sommers Schwartz, who represented Christine Glaeser's family.

The inconsistency of the Glaeser verdict has attorneys of roof death victims across the country puzzled, said Robert Palmer, an attorney in Springfield, Mo., who is president of the Attorney Information Exchange Group, a group of attorneys who share research and documentation on SUV rollover deaths.

"I've never seen a verdict like this," said Palmer, who has tried these cases for 10 years. "No one else has ever seen one like this. It's not only inconsistent with Michigan law, it's illogical."

The inconsistent verdict stems from an unusual question Judge Caprathe asked the jury to consider, which was not part of the standard jury verdict forms, Tyler said. "I objected to that question at the time and I restated that objection when the verdict was returned."

Christine Glaeser and her husband were driving north on I-75 in Bay County on the start of a vacation on July 29, 2000, when a tire on their recently leased 2000 Ford Explorer blew out, causing the vehicle to roll over. An investigation after the crash determined an unknown object had punctured the interior sidewall of the tire, causing it to rapidly lose pressure and pull away from the rim. The tire failure in this case was not because of tread separation at high speed, the source of many wrongful death lawsuits against Ford and Firestone.

Christine Glaeser was 48 and the mother of four children. She was wearing her seat-belt restraint at the time of the accident and the vehicle was traveling around 50 mph when it started to roll over.

Tyler introduced as evidence a number of internal Ford Motor Co. and Volvo documents that show that alternative roof designs that prevent roof collapse were in use in both Ford and Volvo vehicles prior to the accident. Ford owns Volvo. Tyler's evidence was similar to the evidence presented in the successful Florida case, Duncan vs. Ford, which was also a 2000 Explorer, and another successful Ford Explorer rollover case in Texas.

Ford has attempted to keep the Volvo documents sealed but the Texas judge this week ruled the documents be made public and the Florida judge is currently considering the same request.

Tyler will be asking the Bay County Circuit Court within the next month to strike the improper question of alternative design, enter a liability verdict and order a retrial to determine damages only.

Sommers, Schwartz, located in Southfield, Mich., ranks among Michigan's largest law firms. Eleven of the firm's nearly 80 lawyers are listed in "Best Lawyers in America." For more information visit http://www.sommerspc.com/.