FCA Wants Retrial in $150 Million Jeep Fuel Tank Verdict
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV has filed a motion for a new trial after a jury in Georgia awarded $150 million to the family of a 4-year-old boy who died when the 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee he was riding in was rear-ended and burst into flames.
#legal
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV has filed a motion for a new trial after a jury in Georgia awarded $150 million to the family of a 4-year-old boy who died when the 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee he was riding in was rear-ended and burst into flames.
FCA describes the April verdict as "grossly excessive," Reuters reports. The carmaker notes that the jury's $30 million award for pain and suffering and $120 million wrongful death award are, respectively, more than four times and 11 times as large as any in Georgia's history.
The jury found the company 99% responsible for the death, agreeing with plaintiff's claim that the Jeep's fuel tank was too vulnerable to puncture in a rear impact. The jury assigned 1% of the blame to the pickup truck driver who rear-ended the car.
RELATED CONTENT
-
Grand Jury Indicts Former FCA Executive In Union Payoff Scheme
A former labor relations executive at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV has been charged with making more than $2.2 million in illegal payments to himself and a United Auto Workers union official in Detroit.
-
Bosch Targeted in Criminal Probe of VW Diesel Cheating in U.S.
Federal prosecutors in the U.S. are trying to determine whether Robert Bosch GmbH conspired to help Volkswagen AB—and perhaps other carmakers—rig their diesel engines to evade emission standards, sources tell Bloomberg News.
-
Court Ruling Exposes GM to Punitive Damages Over Ignition Switches
A new ruling by the federal judge who presided over General Motors Corp.’s 2009 bankruptcy could expose post-bankruptcy General Motors Co. to a wave of costly punitive damage awards linked to the company’s defective ignition switches.