The state Superior Court has affirmed a more than $55 million verdict against Honda Motors in a much-anticipated ruling that further refines Pennsylvania products liability law in the wake of the game-changing 2014 decision in Tincher v. Omega Flex.

A unanimous three-judge panel of the court ruled Wednesday in Martinez v. American Honda Motor—a case that pit prominent Pennsylvania appellate lawyer Howard Bashman, creator of the How Appealing blog, against Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher litigator Theodore Boutrous Jr. The nonprecedential ruling, which addressed several issues related to Tincher, affirmed the verdict awarded to a man who was paralyzed when his head struck the roof of his 1999 Acura Integra as it rolled after a blowout.

Led by Superior Court Judge Alice Beck Dubow, the panel rejected challenges raised by Honda, including the company's contention that the trial court should have allowed it to introduce evidence of compliance with federal and regulatory standards. The ruling on that issue came down to whether the Pennsylvania Supreme Court's holding in Tincher overruled long-standing precedential decisions, including Gaudio v. Ford Motor and Lewis v. Coffing Hoist Division, Duff-Norton, which barred such information from being introduced.