State Appeals Court 'Reluctantly' Remands $1.7B Punitive Damages, Sanctions Against Ford for Fatal Rollover
The sanctions came in response to Ford's alleged attempts to reach a "compromise verdict," and force a mistrial for products liability claims. However, those sanctions "almost completely prevented Ford from presenting a defense as to liability," according to Appellate Judge M. Yvette Miller.
November 05, 2024 at 05:38 PM
8 minute read
The Georgia Court of Appeals vacated a more than $1.7 billion judgment and sanctions against Ford Motor Co. due to a trial court's blocking defense claims that its truck's design defects caused the death of a couple in 2014.
In an opinion issued Nov. 1, Judge M. Yvette Miller found the State Court of Gwinnett County wrongly applied "issue preclusions" against Ford in a retrial because it violated court orders by mentioning possible misuse of seatbelts, driver fault and calling its expert witness to testify on cause of death.
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