Ford Motor Co. shares fell nearly 5% Monday morning after it was announced a $1.7 billion jury verdict had been reached.
A Georgia jury returned its verdict on Friday after a three-week trial, finding that Ford F should be awarded -4.75% punitive damages for the sale of 5.2 million Super Duty trucks, plaintiffs’ attorneys said argued that they had dangerously weak roofs that were vulnerable to a rollover crash.
Ford shares, trading at around $15.12 a share Monday morning, fell more than the broader market.
The lawsuit, filed by the children of the victims who died in the accident, focused on an accident in 2014 that killed a couple driving a 2002 Ford F-250 when the right front tire blew out and the pickup overturned. The victims, Melvin and Voncile Hill, were crushed inside the truck, according to court records.
“While our condolences go out to the Hill family, we do not believe the verdict is supported by the evidence and we plan to appeal,” Ford said Sunday. “In the meantime, we will not be discussing this matter through the news media.”
The ruling is considered one of the largest in Georgia and puts a spotlight on other older-model Super Duty trucks sold by Ford over a period of approximately 17 years, which plaintiffs’ attorneys have argued have a similar roof design .
In the lawsuit, plaintiffs’ attorneys allege that Super Duty trucks sold during the 1999-2016 model years had improperly designed roofs and that Ford was aware of the hazards that existed at the time. The attorneys cited evidence they said showed the trucks failed internal company tests and that Ford developed a stronger roof in 2004 but did not use it in salable pickups through the 2017 model year, according to court documents.
Ford has identified 162 lawsuits and 83 similar incidents of roof crushing in Super Duty trucks from 1999 to 2016, according to the pre-trial order.
Ford alleges that Mr. Hill, the driver of the F-250 truck involved in the accident, missteered the vehicle after the tire blowout, which caused it to go off the roadway at a dangerous angle, court records show.
Ford also said the truck’s tire had the wrong load rating, causing it to fail, and the Hills had worn their seat belts incorrectly, according to court documents.
High-priced judgments like this are often later reduced by judges or the court of appeal.
write to Nora Eckert at [email protected]
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