Sacramento, CA: (Nov-28-07) Several class action lawsuits were brought against Ford Motor Co., alleging that there were serious defects in its rollover plagued Explorers. Plaintiffs in four states including California, Connecticut, Illinois and Texas, who claimed that their vehicles were prone to flip, filed the lawsuits. Prior to the class actions, the company has faced wrongful death and personal injury lawsuits across the country stemming from a series of rollover accidents that involved earlier models of its popular Explorer. The class action suits contended that due to the defects in structure, the vehicles had lost value because of their perceived danger.
As part of a settlement reached, Ford Motor Co., agreed to allow vehicle owners to apply for $500 vouchers to buy new Explorers or $300 vouchers to buy other Ford or Lincoln Mercury products. The settlement is said to affect about 1 million people. Sources claimed that the settlement ends an era of litigation connected to the faulty SUV. The plaintiffs had alleged false advertising by Ford and that Ford marketed the vehicles as safe when the company knew they had a tendency to flip. The settlement requires Ford to distribute information about the rollover dangers of sport utility vehicles and to limit safety claims in its advertising. [
