A Florida state court jury ordered Mitsubishi Motors Corp. to pay $11 million to the parents of a 25-year-old man who died after being thrown through the window of a Mitsubishi sport utility vehicle in a 2004 crash. On Tuesday, the jury found that there was a design defect in the SUV and that the defect caused Scott Laliberte's death, according an attorney for the plaintiffs (Laliberte's parents). The jury award totaled $11 million in compensatory damages.

The attorney who represents Peter and Donna Laliberte, said that he was pleased with the case's outcome. "I would like to think that the message delivered is when there are defects or issues with your product, you need to remedy it. If you think that there may be an issue, you need to protect consumers. We don't want defective products out there, and we certainly don't want unnecessary tragic deaths like Scott's."

The vehicle at issue was a 2000 Mitsubishi Nativa, which is essentially identical to a 2000 Mitsubishi Montero Sport, but is sold under the name Nativa in Puerto Rico, where this particular SUV was purchased before being shipped to the U.S., according to Keen. The plaintiffs argued that Mitsubishi designed a defective occupant restraint system, which includes the seat belt and the front passenger's seat, where Scott Laliberte was sitting when the fatal crash occurred.