Automotive News, "Ford loses appeal of $47 million verdict in LS seat-latch lawsuit"

          The Georgia Court of Appeals has let stand a $47.7 million verdict against Ford Motor Co. stemming from the failure of the back-seat latch in a 2000 Lincoln LS. The award included almost $14 million in punitive damages.
          The punitive damages were based on evidence that "Ford for years was keenly aware of the latching problem based on hundreds of reports from both internal and external sources," but failed to warn consumers of the danger, said Judge G. Alan Blackburn.
          The three-member appeals panel also rejected Ford's challenges on several evidentiary issues. Ford spokeswoman Kristen Kinley says the company is disappointed and is considering asking the state Supreme Court to review the decision.
          The case involved 6-year-old Kelsey Sasser, who was strapped into the middle of the Lincoln's back seat when her mother accidentally swerved into ongoing traffic, hitting a pickup head-on in June 2000, according to plaintiff's witnesses. The latch failed, and the back seat folded forward, forcing the girl against her shoulder seat belt and injuring her spinal cord. The accident left the lower part of her body paralyzed.
          Ford denied the latch was defective, but a Fulton County jury awarded $33.9 million in compensatory damages, plus punitive damages.
          The appeals court found ample evidence to support punitive damages.
          "The back-seat latch system of the LS vehicle had caused Ford numerous problems over the years, both in the years leading up to the launch of the vehicle and in the years after it was on the market," the court said. "The system often would simply not latch, despite strenuous efforts to force the latch to connect."
          The court also said: "Ford was aware of the possibility of a tragic accident like Kelsey's occurring but decided not to alert the public to this danger. A jury was authorized to find such conduct callous and wanton."
          The court said that Ford earlier had considered both a $3-per-vehicle "flag indicator" system to alert drivers if the back seat wasn't fully latched and a $10-per-vehicle interlock system to prevent the center seat belt from buckling if the back seat wasn't fully latched. Neither was adopted, and the vehicles were not recalled.