JUDGE OVERTURNS $15,000,000.00 JURY

Bruce Roberts

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A United States Federal Judge rejected a $15,000,000.00 jury verdict and ordered another trial. The verdict was the result of a lawsuit against Ford Motor Company by a Tulsa, Oklahoma couple whose son died in a rollover crash.

According to the United States Chief District Judge Claire Eagan, the defendant, Ford Motor Company was prejudiced by plaintiff's counsel's conduct. The judge stated that the conduct of the attorney resulted in the unprecedented jury verdict for non-economic damages,. The judge concluded that only remedy for the conduct was a new trial.

Tulsa jeweler Kevin Moody and Veronica Moody filed the lawsuit Nov. 18, 2003, about 10 months after their 18-year-old son, Tyler Moody, died in a rollover crash in Tulsa. A jury found in their favor in November, last year.

The lawsuit said the Explorer's roof had "an inadequate roof-crush tolerance," and that Tyler Moody became trapped in the vehicle with the roof pushing his neck into his chest.

The plaintiffs attorney, Clark Brewster, said that the basis for the judge ordering a new trial involved matters "that -- for the most part -- were completely unobjected to at trial."