Sunday, June 19, 2005

Ford settlement open to all in S.C.

By John Monk
News Columnist

Ford Motor Co. has settled for $3.5 million a federal lawsuit in which an Horry County man claimed a defective latch on his F-150 pickup truck resulted in his being severely and permanently injured.

A two-year court order requires such settlements be open — as opposed to sealed secretly — in federal courts in South Carolina. As a result, the S.C. settlement may be the first publicly disclosed payout that Ford has made in defective latch cases around the nation, according to lawyers Ed Bell of Georgetown and Kevin Dean of Charleston’s Motley Rice Law Firm.

Last year, Ford settled a similar case alleging a defective latch in Texas. But in that case, a judge — acting at Ford’s request — ordered the amount of the settlement kept secret. In the Texas case, two women died after their F-150 rolled over.

In the Texas and S.C. settlements, Ford denied all liability.

“All vehicles manufactured by Ford do meet all applicable standards,” Ford spokeswoman Kathleen Vokes said last week.

She said Ford wanted the settlement amount sealed in Texas because it was “standard procedure in all agreements that Ford is involved with,” except in South Carolina.

Whether to make public or seal settlements in lawsuits concerning public safety is a controversial topic. Secret settlements are allowed in most states. But advocates — including plaintiffs’ lawyers — say secrecy harms the public. Citizens can learn about the seriousness of a problem from the dollar value of a settlement, they say.

Two years ago, Ford easily could have had its S.C. settlement sealed. It also could have asked the judge to bar all parties to the lawsuit from disclosing the settlement.

But in late 2002, federal judges in South Carolina, acting on a proposal by U.S. District Chief Judge Joe Anderson, banned all secret settlements in matters concerning public safety. State judges enacted a similar rule.

Since then, South Carolina has gained wide attention for being a national leader in court openness. Most states allow judges to seal settlements, even though the secrecy might keep the public ignorant of matters that pose a threat to citizens.

In the last two years, more than 50 federal court settlements in South Carolina have been made public that, in the past, would have been sealed, Anderson estimated last week. He said no one has done a precise count.

FORD DENIES PROBLEM

Anderson said he was “delighted” to know S.C. citizens now are learning about settlements such as Ford’s $3.5 million payout to Horry County resident Zachary Strickland and his parents.

In that case, Strickland, then 18, was severely injured when he was ejected from his F-150 during a 1997 two-car crash in Marion County. His lawsuit alleged a door latch malfunctioned, allowing the door to open and him to be thrown out.

Ford denied the latch malfunctioned. It unearthed evidence showing Strickland was a problem driver who ran a stop sign and contributed to the accident, according to court documents.

Since that accident, lawyers Bell and Dean have sued Ford in several other states and Canada. In individual and class actions, they have alleged Ford produced F-series pickup trucks from 1997 to 2000 with defective door latches that can open during crashes. Ford denies the allegations.

In the Strickland case, settled after three weeks of trial, Ford contended its doors met federal standards. The plaintiffs countered Ford had lowered its standards for the F-series pickups.

Since the case did not go to a jury, none of those issues were given a final determination.

COURTS NOT SLOWED

One matter that has been settled is whether public disclosure would obstruct settlements and lead to more trials.

In 2002, when Anderson proposed banning secret settlements in matters of public safety, defense lawyers objected. They said forcing public disclosure would deter settlements, lead to more trials and clog the court system.

None of that has happened, acknowledged prominent defense lawyer Mills Gallivan, past president of the S.C. Defense Trial Attorneys’ Association. “I don’t think it has caused more cases going to trial.”

But Gallivan said some cases still can end without public disclosure if lawyers for both parties agree to settle a case privately, without a judge’s approval.

Judge Anderson made openness an issue in 2002, after reading news stories in The State. Those stories told how doctors, accused of killing and maiming patients, were using the state’s court system to make secret payments to their victims and then getting judges to order victims to keep quiet about the payouts.

At the time, Anderson said judges should not help conceal questionable actions by sealing settlements in matters of public safety. For example, he said it was wrong for judges to seal settlements in child molestation and defective tire cases.

Columbia plaintiffs’ attorney Ken Suggs hailed the open Horry settlement, adding it will help people make decisions about which vehicles are safe.

“Had Ford not been convinced the jury would say there was a defect in the vehicle, they would never have paid that kind of settlement,” said Suggs, rising president of the 60,000-member Association of Trail Lawyers of America, a group that represents plaintiffs in lawsuits.

Ford spokeswoman Vokes said the company doesn’t know how many lawsuits are pending alleging defective door latches.

“We face so many frivolous lawsuits in a year that if we kept statistics, they just would be meaningless,” she said.