TxDoc
01-07-2003, 22:14
U.S. judge declines to dismiss Bridgestone suit
January 7, 2003
BY GINA KEATING
REUTERS
LOS ANGELES -- A federal judge Monday refused to dismiss a lawsuit accusing Bridgestone Corp. of concealing tread separation problems in its Steeltex tires by ruling the case should be heard in a state court.
In a tentative ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Christina Snyder said the proposed class action, which demands that the tire maker recall 27.5 million Steeltex R4S, R4SII and A/T tires, should return to Riverside County Superior Court.
The lawsuit claims the tires caused thousands of accidents, including some that caused death and serious injury and says that the company hid key information from safety regulators.
The suit, which names Japan-based Bridgestone and its U.S., unit, Bridgestone/Firestone North American Tires, was filed in August. The plaintiffs' attorney's hope to represent 30 million Steeltex owners nationwide. Snyder tentatively denied two motions by Bridgestone attorneys asking her to drop the Japanese corporate parent from the suit, and to dismiss the lawsuit entirely.
The judge was expected to finalize her ruling within days, after she considers arguments by Bridgestone attorneys to keep the case in federal court.
In a statement, Bridgestone expressed disappointment that that "certain plaintiffs lawyers will try to create fear and concern among the driving public for their own personal gain."
Joseph Lisoni, the Pasadena, California attorney who filed the suit on behalf of two Steeltex owners who suffered tread separation problems, hailed the ruling as "appropriate."
"The (state) laws are much more favorable to us," Lisoni said. In particular, California's "Long-Arm Statute," allows consumers to sue any company that advertises or sells defective products in the state, he said.
Fighting recall demand
The company's attorneys have argued that only the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has authority to order a recall.
Bridgestone is still fighting rollover lawsuits in courts stemming from tread separation problems in its Wilderness tires, which were standard equipment on the Ford Explorer and other sport utility vehicles.
About 20 million Wilderness tires were recalled, 14 million by Ford and 6.5 million by Firestone.
Steeltex tires are standard equipment on 43 models of pickups, vans, trucks and mobile homes, mostly made by Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp.
In November, Lisoni asked NHTSA to reopen an investigation into whether the Steeltex tires should also be recalled. In a Dec. 19 letter, NHTSA asked the plaintiffs to submit more information about their claims.
Bridgestone spokeswoman Marina Marich said the company had already passed muster with the federal transportation agency, and had no intention of issuing another recall.
"NHTSA has reviewed these tires and clearly stated they found no evidence of defect," the company said in a statement. "We are constantly evaluating our tires and are committed to taking action if it is warranted. In this case it is not."
In a related case, jury selection got under way Monday in Alabama state court in a lawsuit brought by the family of a civil rights leader who was killed in a June 2000 rollover accident involving a Ford Explorer with Firestone tires.
Opening statements were expected to start Tuesday in the case brought by the heirs of Earl Shinhoster, 49, a former acting director of the U.S. civil rights group NAACP who died when the Explorer he was riding in blew a tire and flipped several times.
At the time, he was part of a security motorcade escorting the first lady of Liberia, Jewel Howard-Taylor, to Montgomery, Alabama. Two other passengers in the Explorer were injured.
January 7, 2003
BY GINA KEATING
REUTERS
LOS ANGELES -- A federal judge Monday refused to dismiss a lawsuit accusing Bridgestone Corp. of concealing tread separation problems in its Steeltex tires by ruling the case should be heard in a state court.
In a tentative ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Christina Snyder said the proposed class action, which demands that the tire maker recall 27.5 million Steeltex R4S, R4SII and A/T tires, should return to Riverside County Superior Court.
The lawsuit claims the tires caused thousands of accidents, including some that caused death and serious injury and says that the company hid key information from safety regulators.
The suit, which names Japan-based Bridgestone and its U.S., unit, Bridgestone/Firestone North American Tires, was filed in August. The plaintiffs' attorney's hope to represent 30 million Steeltex owners nationwide. Snyder tentatively denied two motions by Bridgestone attorneys asking her to drop the Japanese corporate parent from the suit, and to dismiss the lawsuit entirely.
The judge was expected to finalize her ruling within days, after she considers arguments by Bridgestone attorneys to keep the case in federal court.
In a statement, Bridgestone expressed disappointment that that "certain plaintiffs lawyers will try to create fear and concern among the driving public for their own personal gain."
Joseph Lisoni, the Pasadena, California attorney who filed the suit on behalf of two Steeltex owners who suffered tread separation problems, hailed the ruling as "appropriate."
"The (state) laws are much more favorable to us," Lisoni said. In particular, California's "Long-Arm Statute," allows consumers to sue any company that advertises or sells defective products in the state, he said.
Fighting recall demand
The company's attorneys have argued that only the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has authority to order a recall.
Bridgestone is still fighting rollover lawsuits in courts stemming from tread separation problems in its Wilderness tires, which were standard equipment on the Ford Explorer and other sport utility vehicles.
About 20 million Wilderness tires were recalled, 14 million by Ford and 6.5 million by Firestone.
Steeltex tires are standard equipment on 43 models of pickups, vans, trucks and mobile homes, mostly made by Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp.
In November, Lisoni asked NHTSA to reopen an investigation into whether the Steeltex tires should also be recalled. In a Dec. 19 letter, NHTSA asked the plaintiffs to submit more information about their claims.
Bridgestone spokeswoman Marina Marich said the company had already passed muster with the federal transportation agency, and had no intention of issuing another recall.
"NHTSA has reviewed these tires and clearly stated they found no evidence of defect," the company said in a statement. "We are constantly evaluating our tires and are committed to taking action if it is warranted. In this case it is not."
In a related case, jury selection got under way Monday in Alabama state court in a lawsuit brought by the family of a civil rights leader who was killed in a June 2000 rollover accident involving a Ford Explorer with Firestone tires.
Opening statements were expected to start Tuesday in the case brought by the heirs of Earl Shinhoster, 49, a former acting director of the U.S. civil rights group NAACP who died when the Explorer he was riding in blew a tire and flipped several times.
At the time, he was part of a security motorcade escorting the first lady of Liberia, Jewel Howard-Taylor, to Montgomery, Alabama. Two other passengers in the Explorer were injured.