Back in the fall of 2022, Ford was ordered to pay $1.7 billion in punitive damages over an allegation that the roofs present on 1999-2016 Ford Super Duty models aren’t strong enough to hold up in the event of a rollover crash, a decision that stemmed from a wrongful death lawsuit originally filed in 2014. At first, Ford asked for a new trial, but that request wasn’t granted. Ford then decided to appeal the decision in that case, leaving it in the hands of a Georgia court this past July. Now, the Court of Appeals has elected to grant this Ford Super Duty roof crush case a brand new trial.
According to Car Complaints, the original Ford Super Duty roof crush lawsuit – Hill v. Ford Motor Company., case number 16-C-04179-S2 – has had its $1.7 billion dollar judgement and verdict vacated, meaning that FoMoCo and the law offices of Butler Prather LLP, Mahaffey Pickens Tucker LLP, Walker, Hulbert, Gray & Moore, LLP, and Bondurant Mixson & Elmore will start fresh as both sides attempt to convince a jury that they’re in the legal right.
This decision stems largely from the fact that the Court of Appeals sided with Ford’s argument that the tire that blew out on this Super Duty pickup was the incorrect one for that model, noting that it wasn’t installed by a Ford dealer, either – rather, that was handled by Pep Boys. The truck rolled over three times as a result, but the plaintiffs claimed that its weak roof was to blame for the resulting deaths of its occupants. Ford claims that it has evidence the owner of the truck knew this was the improper tire and still requested that it be installed, adding that the driver and passenger weren’t wearing their seatbelts properly, either. Ultimately, the appeals court ruled that the trial court can choose whether or not to reconsider Ford’s evidence.
This lawsuit – and several others filed in the months since – alleges that 1999-2016 Ford Super Duty pickups are all impacted by this issue, resulting in multiple other deaths in at least 80 similar rollover crashes. However, Ford has long argued that these roofs met all government safety standards at the time, though those standards were updated in 2012 and The Blue Oval wasn’t required to adhere to them until 2017.
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