Lawyers Emerge As The Winner In Ford Settlement

by Paul Elias - August 3rd, 2009 - Associated Press

The lawyers were paid millions of dollars. Ford Motor Co. put behind it a costly lawsuit connected to the Explorer rollover scandal of the 1990s. And the judge closed out a complex case that clogged the Sacramento County Superior Court's overburdened calendar for more than seven years.

Everyone seemingly got some tangible benefit — except for nearly all of the 1 million consumers covered by the class action lawsuit filed in their name. None of the consumers got money, only discount coupons toward new Ford purchases. Few used them.

The practice of settling class action lawsuits by doling out discount coupons rather than cash has come under fire from tort reform activists and others who complain that such lawsuits mainly benefit the lawyers — and even the companies being sued — at the expense of their clients.

Of course this is typical of the corruption of our courts. Note the allusion to the "complex case". What they really mean is that the lawyers thought arguing that an SUV is more likely to roll over than a sports car was somehow enlightening. That the Explorer was fairly average in roll over propensity compared with other top heavy 4 wheel drive high road clearance off road capable vehicles is what made it a "complex case".

Of course lawyers are of the opinion that no one should ever sell a product that does not defy the laws of gravity. Even if most of the customers realize it is going to be more prone to roll over if they want the type of vehicle in question, the manufacturer is still liable when it does roll over. This is known as the consumer law of hindsight. The manufacturer is liable... period. Back when I worked for Bendix they lost a lawsuit because the judge ruled that the failure of a third party brake cylinder made in Brazil was their fault because they did not somehow build a truck where a defective brake cylinder they did not manufacture could not be installed.

What?

That no one with a brain could define how they could have done that made no difference to the idiot judge in that case. After all, the corrupt judges are never wrong since "justice" is what they say it is. This arrogance is exactly why we have the most corrupt court system on earth. That anyone can be sued by anyone, no matter how ignorant or insane is the reason America has more lawyers than the entire rest of the world. That alone is all the proof necessary to label our court system the most corrupt. This case is just more evidence piling on.