U.S. Sup. Ct.;
15–1406
Respondents Leroy, Donna, Barry, and Suzanne Haeger sued petitioner Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, alleging that the failure of a Goodyear G159 tire caused the family’s motor home to swerve off the road and flip over. After several years of contentious discovery, marked by Goodyear’s slow response to repeated requests for internal G159 test results, the parties settled the case. Some months later, the Haegers’ lawyer learned that, in another lawsuit involving the G159, Goodyear had disclosed test results indicating that the tire got unusually hot at highway speeds. In subsequent correspondence, Goodyear conceded withholding the information from the Haegers, even though they had requested all testing data. The Haegers then sought sanctions for discovery fraud, urging that Goodyear’s misconduct entitled them to attorney’s fees and costs expended in the litigation.
