William Myers, et al v. Ford Motor Company
Jaime A. Saenz of the firm served as co-lead counsel for Ford in this matter. Plaintiffs, the survivors of 70-year-old Beth Myers, and three passengers, sued Ford Motor Company in this products liability action alleging that a 2003 Mountaineer was defective in the following respects: inadequate roof strength, defective seat belt, lack of a safety canopy, alleged instability, and lack of electronic stability control. Myers was driving on October 3, 2005, returning from a family trip to the Grand Canyon; for unknown reasons, Myers allowed the vehicle to drift off the roadway to the left before she made two severe steering inputs and lost control of the vehicle. The vehicle rolled over five times on-road, passenger-side leading. Myers was fully ejected and died from multiple blunt force trauma. Michelle Bersbach, the 45-year-old belted front passenger, sustained a scalp laceration and incurred $31,000 in medical expenses. Paige Noss, the 39-year-old unbelted right rear passenger, was ejected, sustained serious orthopedic injuries, and has incurred over $230,000 in medical expenses. Gillian Noss, a toddler who was belted in a child seat, sustained minor injuries. Trial began on September 30, 2008. Due to his participation in another case that was being tried a week at a time in a Texas state court, Mr. Saenz was excused immediately after the close of evidence. The jury returned a unanimous defense verdict on October 17, 2008.
