Dykema Secures Product Liability Victory in Favor of Ford Motor Company

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7.23.14

A Salt Lake City jury rendered a verdict in favor of Dykema client Ford Motor Company in a product liability case that alleged the fuel system of a 2000 Ford Taurus was defective and unreasonably dangerous.

After a stopped or nearly stopped 2000 Ford Taurus was rear-impacted at highway speeds by another vehicle on a freeway in Salt Lake City, Utah, the automobile caught fire. Plaintiff, Christina Lomax, a, minor, sustained burn injuries in the crash. Plaintiff sued Ford for more than $20 million in damages, claiming that the fuel system was defective and unreasonably dangerous and that the fire was the result of a compromise to the fuel system.

Ford and Dykema’s legal team denied the Plaintiff’s allegations, contending that the Taurus was not defective or unreasonably dangerous and that the cause of the fire was due to the compromise of flammable cans in the trunk, which were breached upon impact.

The trial began on June 23 in the Third Judicial District Court in Salt Lake City and a verdict was reached on July 8. The jury decided in favor of Ford finding that there was no defect in the Taurus.

The Dykema team representing Ford included Members Brittany Schultz and James Feeney as well as legal specialist Matthew Gaabo. Dykema also worked with local counsel Kimberly Neville and Erin Stauffer, legal assistant, of Dorsey & Whitney LLP in Salt Lake City.

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