It really does pay to be a Ford Explorer owner. At least it does if you owned one of the 1991-2000 models involved in the Firestone tire scandal.
About six months ago, a California judge approved a settlement to thousands of Ford Explorer owners affected by the Firestone tire recall. This earlier class action lawsuit was brought about because of the safety issues that the Ford owners had to deal with by getting defective tires. Ford did not appeal the decision thereby excusing itself from any further lawsuits from customers agreeing to the settlement.
Now in a completely separate lawsuit, some 800,000 Explorer owners will receive a new settlement because their vehicles suffered damage to their resale value as a result of the tire problem. The new agreement stipulates that all of these Explorer owners will receive a rebate check valid for $500 off a new Explorer or $300 off any Ford Motor Company product. The check is valid for one full year only.
Ford appears to be happy with the latest decision, even though it was not in its favor. According to Ford spokeswoman Kristen Kinley, “We are satisfied with the judge's decision. We feel that although the case is without merit and we proved that in court, we also believe the settlement is right for our customers."
Does that last comment sound like double-talk to anyone else? How can a case be without merit but right for Ford customers? Oh, yeah. This payout is essentially just one more Ford rebate program. We wonder how many Ford customers who really felt burned by the whole Ford fiasco will really race out to their nearest dealer, these checks burning a hole in their pockets!
The real winners in this lawsuit are, of course, the lawyers who argued the case. Apparently all of the lawyers involved in this class action case will be paid approximately $25 million by Ford. This payout will be made in cash, not rebate checks for a Ford Focus.
Our biggest concern about this lawsuit is as follows. How much of it really served the interest of the consumer and not the law firms involved in the case? As anyone who has shopped for a Ford lately knows, it isn’t all that hard to get a rebate on any of their models.
Cases like this really do illustrate the uncontrollably litigious nature of our society in 2008. While we do not doubt owners of these Explorers did deserve some settlement, we just think that $25 million should have been paid out in cash to the owners and not the lawyers.