$73 Million Verdict Against Ford After Fatal Van Rollover

On April 9, 2004, a 15-passenger Ford E-350 Econoline van carrying members of Fair Oaks Presbyterian Church was traveling on Interstate 5 near the Grapevine when the rear tire suddenly shed its tread. The driver, William Brownell, lost control. The van rolled four times.

Brownell was killed in the crash. Front-seat passenger Tony Mauro, a church member, also died from his injuries. Two other passengers, Marlene Shirley and Alexander Bessonov, survived with serious injuries. The van's tires were Goodyear models that Goodyear had flagged to Ford as defective as early as 2002, years before the accident.

Lawsuit was filed in 2006. At trial in Sacramento Superior Court, Roger Dreyer of Dreyer Babich Buccola and Wood, working alongside co-counsel Christine Spagnoli of Greene Broillet and Wheeler, argued that Ford had received specific warnings about the defective tires and failed to notify van owners or take corrective action. The jury found the van itself was dangerously defective and prone to rollovers when a tread separation occurred.

On November 10, 2011, a 10-2 jury found Ford negligent and assigned Ford approximately 59 percent of the fault, with Goodyear (which had settled separately before trial) bearing the remaining 41 percent. The jury awarded $23 million in compensatory damages: $17.5 million to Tony Mauro's wife and two sons, $5.2 million to Marlene Shirley, and $292,000 to Alexander Bessonov. On top of those compensatory awards, the jury added $50 million in punitive damages against Ford.

The total verdict came to $73 million. Ford announced plans to appeal, calling the outcome unfair. No appellate decision reducing or reversing the verdict has been identified in published court records or press reports.