Recall sought of 4 million Ford Explorers
INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana (CNN) -- A lawyer representing hundreds of people
killed or injured in Firestone tire failures on Ford Explorers said
Saturday the case
now includes a request for a judge to force Ford to recall 4 million of
the vehicles.
Irwin Levin, the court-appointed liaison counsel in the class-action
case, said papers seeking the recall were filed Friday in U.S. District
Court in Indianapolis.
These cases are all about safety," he said. "Hundreds of people have been
injured or killed as result of the malfeasance of corporate America.
We've asked the court to help
save lives in the future just as we're asking compensation for those hurt
and killed in past."
Jason Vines, Ford's chief spokesman, told the Detroit Free Press that the
request for a forced recall is "frivolous. We'd like to see some facts
here."
The motion asks the judge to order a recall of all Explorers made between
1990, the first year that the model was produced, through 2000. Levin
said owners of those
vehicles should be given refunds or replacement vehicles.
The nation's No. 2 automaker announced last week it would replace 13
million Firestone Wilderness AT, ATX and ATXII tires on its vehicles
because of concerns about the
safety of the tires. Replacing the tires will cost Ford more than $2
billion. More than 100 deaths have been linked to accidents associated
with tire failures and rollovers in
recent years.
Earlier in the week, Bridgestone/Firestone asked the National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration to investigate the safety of the Explorers
after a company-backed study
found design flaws in the sports utility vehicle.
Levin said the battle between these two "titans" only helps their case.
"In the beginning of the case, Ford and Firestone were hand in hand," he
said. "But now, with the ongoing fight, they are confirming the evidence
we have of unsafe
practices."
Levin remained hopeful that Ford would "act responsibly" in the case and
issue its own recall.
"From the beginning of this lawsuit we suggested that if Ford and
Firestone cared about customers they'd resolve this case in a way that
would be favorable for consumers,"
he said. "I hope Ford and Firestone will sit down and address the safety
issues that are on the table. If not, a judge will do so."
Recently released sales figures showed Ford had a 12 percent drop in
overall domestic sales for May. Sales for the month were down 10 percent
compared to May 2000.
Despite that, the Ford Explorer had its best sales month yet for 2001,
moving 36,904 units of the popular sports utility vehicle in May 2001.
That's down 16 percent,
however, from sales of 44,202 units in the same month last year.
More than 200 cases against Firestone and Ford have been consolidated
into one case in the district court. The new motion was filed as part of
this ongoing case, Levin said,
and is not a new lawsuit against Ford and Firestone.
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