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Firestone settles lawsuit
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August 24, 2001: 12:49 p.m. ET
First case to go to trial against tiremaker settles for undisclosed sum
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McALLEN, Texas (CNN) - Tiremaker Bridgestone/Firestone Inc. and the family of a woman who was seriously injured in a tire-separation accident have settled the first case to go to trial for a reported $7.5 million, ending the court fight four days after the case went to the jury.
The amount of the settlement was not disclosed by the parties but sources close to the case told CNN the amount was $7.5 million. That's far less than the $1 billion sought in the lawsuit, but more than the $6 billion the family is reported to have received from Ford Motor Co. (F: up $0.21 to $20.29, Research, Estimates) in the settlement of a similar action.
Plaintiff Joel Rodriguez, whose wife Marisa was left wheelchair-bound when their Ford Explorer overturned on a Mexican highway on March 9, 2000, said he was pleased with the settlement and that he had wanted to wait until the case was presented before settling with the tiremaker.
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Joel Rodriguez
Plaintiff's husband said he is pleased with settlement. | |
"The facts had to go out. That was one of our major concerns," said Rodriguez, a physician in Pharr, Texas. "Marisa is our concern now. I think we're going to get our lives back, (though) not as it was before." (325KB WAV) (325KB AIFF)
The case had been closely watched due to the number of cases pending against Japanese-owned tiremaker Bridgestone/Firestone and Ford. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has documented 203 deaths and more than 700 injuries linked to tread separation rollover accidents involving Firestone tires and Ford Explorers.
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Marisa Rodriguez has been confined to a wheelchair since a March 2000 accident involving her family's Ford Explorer following the failure of its Firestone tires. | |
Wendy Needham, an analyst with Credit Suisse First Boston, said her initial impression of the settlement news is that Firestone's strategy to blame Ford for the accidents had proven unsuccessful.
"For Bridgestone/Firestone, I guess it's always good to settle than to go to jury," she said. "But I would take that to mean it's good news for Ford. The strategy here was to try to get some blame on Ford."
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Bridgestone/Firestone expressed satisfaction with verdict.
"We are glad we were able to reach a resolution with Rodriguez family," the tiremaker said in its statement. "We had been hopeful that we could reach a fair settlement that would also bring closure to them."
Judge Filemon Vela thanked the jurors in the case that without their work the two sides would not have reached an agreement.
The family reached an out-of-court settlement with Ford in July.
Ford and Bridgestone/Firestone have waged an increasingly bitter public relations battle blaming one another for the series of fatal accidents linked to Ford vehicles equipped with Firestone Wilderness AT or ATX tires.
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The accident occurred five months before Firestone announced the recall of 6.5 million 15-inch Wilderness AT, ATX and ATX II tires made at the company's plant in Decatur, Ill., where the Rodriguez's tire was made. Earlier this year Ford announced it would replace an additional 13 million Firestone brand tires it said are unsafe.
The tiremaker responded by saying Ford was trying to divert attention from problems with the design of the Explorer, and said it would no longer sell tires to Ford. 
CNNfn contributed to this report
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