Ford Motor Company Ordered to Pay the Largest Punitive Damage Award Ever Upheld on Appeal in California in the Amount of $87 Million Dollars with Interest to Crash Victim Vanetta Buell-Wilson and Her Husband as a Result of a Ford Explorer SUV Rollover
Ford has already paid more than $30 million in compensatory damages, interest and costs. Ford argued that they and other manufacturers “are routinely exposed to massive punitive damage awards without regard to whether they had sufficient notice to allow them to comply with the law and avoid punishment.” Plaintiff’s lawyers in the case argued that the Ford Explorer design made it prone to rolling over during common evasive or accident avoidance maneuvers and the vehicle’s roof was too weak to withstand a rollover. Lawyers for Buell-Wilson told the Supreme Court that a California jury and Court of Appeals noted that Ford has knowingly sold a dangerous and defective vehicle but it could have been made safe for a modest amount.
The original jury award against Buell-Wilson and her husband in California was in the amount of $368 Million Dollars, the largest award ever assessed against Ford Motor Company. The trial judge and Appeals Court later reduced the award.
