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Our Transportation Practice
The following information is a brief glimpse at some of what Motley Rice lawyers have accomplished in the past in the vehicle product defect area:
Ford/Firestone
On August 9, 2000, Bridgestone Firestone tire manufacturer announced one of the largest product recalls in our history.
Motley Rice lawyers played a key role in the national class action and state class actions filed against Ford Motor Company and Bridgestone Firestone.
Motley Rice lawyers contributed significantly in developing liability of Ford and Firestone which ultimately resulted in Firestone settling on a nationwide basis for their defective tires.
In the course of this litigation, Motley Rice lawyers not only chaired the Ford/Firestone MDL discovery and settlement committees, but also deposed several key figures, including Ford's CEO, Jack Nasser.
Motley Rice lawyers facilitated the certification of the national class (decertified by the 7th Circuit) and the certification of the individual state class actions including a favorable ruling on jurisdictional issues over foreign parent, Bridgestone of Japan. These efforts have now culimated in a successful $149 million dollor settlement for a nationwide class action settlement.
SUV Rollover/Roof Crush/Crash Worthiness
Unfortunately many drivers of SUVs are misled to believe the bigger, the better... and safer. This is simply not the case. According to Motor Vehicle Crash Data from FARS and GES, 95% of the 11 million vehicles involved in motor vehicle crashes in 2002 were passenger cars or light trucks. (NHTSA classifies Light Trucks as including pickups, vans, and utility vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating of 10,000 pounds or less.) Further, compared with other vehicles, SUVs experienced the highest rollover rates: 35.9 percent in fatal crashes, 9.7 percent in injury crashes, and 2.4 percent in property-damage-only crashes.
Motley Rice lawyers have litigated rollover and crashworthiness cases against auto manufacturers including Ford, Jeep AMC, Diamler Chrysler, and GM. These cases include accidents involving passenger cars and light trucks. In the early day of the SUV, Motley Rice lawyers worked on the Ford Bronco II discovery, uncovering the documents revealing Ford's attempts to conceal the vehicle's stability problem.
Tractor/Trailer
Motley Rice lawyers currently represent several clients in litigation involving vehicle accidents with tractor trailers/semi trucks. In fact, one of the lawyers at Motley Rice, Mary F. Schiavo, served as Inspector General to the U.S. Department of Transportation from 1990 - 1996 and brings with her extensive knowledge about safety compliance issues and the trucking industry as a whole.
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