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Ford Settles Lawsuits About Explorer Safety

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The Associated Press

Published: November 29, 2007

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Ford Motor Co. on Wednesday agreed to settle class-action lawsuits covering plaintiffs in four states who claimed its Explorer sport utility vehicles were prone to rollovers, the company and an attorney for the plaintiffs said.

The settlement applies to about 1 million people in California, Connecticut, Illinois and Texas, said Kevin P. Roddy, a New Jersey attorney and co-counsel for the SUV owners who brought the lawsuit.

He said the settlement will be filed in Sacramento County Superior Court.

It will allow vehicle owners to apply for $500 vouchers to buy new Explorers or $300 vouchers to buy other Ford or Lincoln Mercury products, Roddy told The Associated Press.

The settlements apply to Explorers in model years 1991 through 2001, he said.

Consumers will be able to apply for the vouchers through a Web site starting Monday if a Sacramento judge gives preliminary approval to the settlement. The parties plan to ask Superior Court Judge David De Alba to give final approval during a hearing in April, after those covered by the settlement have had time to apply for the vouchers, Roddy said.

The settlement also requires Ford to distribute information about the rollover dangers of SUVs and to limit safety claims in its advertising.

Ford has faced wrongful death and personal injury lawsuits across the country stemming from a series of rollover accidents that involved earlier models of its popular Explorer.

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