Ford loses Supreme Court decision, state claims can go forward

The U.S. Supreme Court said in a unanimous decision Thursday that product liability lawsuits against Ford Motor Co. in two states could move forward in those jurisdictions even though the vehicles in question were not produced or sold in either.

Ford's lawyers had argued that because the vehicles involved in the two 2015 crashes at issue — one in Montana and the other in Minnesota — involved Ford vehicles manufactured in the 1990s that were not originally manufactured or sold in those states, cases brought against the company in state courts should not proceed.

Instead, Ford said they should have been brought elsewhere, as in Washington State and North Dakota, where the vehicles were first sold. To do otherwise, Ford argued, upends precedent that gives corporations certainty as to where they can be sued and under what conditions.

In the Montana crash, Markkaya Gullett was killed after the tread on a rear tire on her 1996 Ford Explorer separated and the vehicle rolled into a ditch. In Minnesota, Adam Bandemer suffered brain injuries while on his way to ice fishing when a friend's 1994 Crown Victoria was rear-ended and the airbag failed to deploy.

Read more: https://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/ford/2021/03/25/ford-lawsuits-supreme-court-decision/6997013002/