500,000 potential class members involved in dispute over faulty accelerator pedals
HOUSTON, April 27, 2009 – Last week the Oklahoma Supreme Court vacated an intermediate court’s reversal of a trial court’s certification of a class action lawsuit against Ford Motor Company and Williams Controls, Inc. Plaintiffs, Dr. Braulio M. Cuesta and Eric L. Golden, contend that Ford and Williams designed, manufactured, and installed defective accelerator pedals in certain Ford Super Duty pick-up trucks and Expeditions. The lawsuit alleges that Ford and Williams installed these accelerator pedals even though they failed Ford’s internal “overload” testing and engineering specifications.
As the Court explained in its 25-page opinion, Plaintiffs contend that when “forcible pressure is applied to the pedals [] they cause the vehicles to shift to idle instead of accelerating and, therefore, are defective and unreasonably dangerous.” The class contains an estimated 300,000 to 500,000 potential members who are current owners of Ford Super Duty trucks or Ford Excursions, including model years 2001.25, 2002, 2003, and 2003.25, which vehicles contain a non-adjustable, fixed electronic throttle control accelerator pedal manufactured by Williams.
The case was filed in September 2004 in Durant, Oklahoma state court, and the trial court certified a nationwide class in March 2007. The intermediate appellate court reversed the trial court’s certification order a year later, and on April 21, 2009, the Oklahoma Supreme Court reinstated the trial court’s class certification of the representatives’ warranty claims. Plaintiffs will request a quick trial date.
Plaintiffs are represented by Grant Harvey, Mark Giugliano, and Andrew Pickens of Gibbs & Bruns LLP (Houston, Texas); Troy Greene of the Greene Law Firm (Houston, Texas); John Dowdell and William O’Connor of Norman, Wohlgemuth, Chandler & Dowdell LLP (Tulsa, Oklahoma); and Michael Burrage and David Burrage of the Burrage Law Firm (Durant, Oklahoma).
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