Supreme Court Keeps Ford On the Hook for $82.6 Million Settlement
Dec 01, 2009 - By Chris Weiss
Ford has enjoyed a few months as the darling of the American automotive industry, but it was bound to get caught up in some less-than-spectacular press at some point. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Ford is responsible for the full $82.6 million awarded to a California woman who was paralyzed when her 1997 Ford Explorer rolled over. Benetta Buell-Wilson was paralyzed from the waist down when the roof of her Explorer caved in during a 2002 crash on a California Interstate.
Ford wasn’t challenging the entire figure, but $55 million that was awarded in punitive damages. The Court found that Ford was aware of the deficiencies that caused the rollover and cave in and was therefore fully responsible for the damages.
A jury originally awarded $346 million, but the amount was cut twice since then. [Freep via egmCarTech]