Buell-Wilson

Buell-Wilson v. Ford Motor Company

Caution

141 Cal. App. 4th 525·2006 Cal. App. LEXIS 1089·2006 D.A.R. 9367·2006 Daily Journal DAR 9367·46 Cal. Rptr. 3d 147

Court of Appeal of CaliforniaJuly 19, 2006D045154, D045579California17,883 words

Opinion

Nares, J.

Benetta Buell-Wilson (Mrs. Wilson) brought this action against Ford Motor Company (Ford) and Drew Ford (Drew) as a result of the rollover and roof crush of her Ford Explorer (Explorer) that left her a paraplegic. Mrs. Wilson’s husband Barry Wilson (Mr. Wilson) brought a claim for loss of consortium against Ford and Drew. A jury found in favor of Mrs. Wilson and Mr. Wilson (together the Wilsons), finding that (1) the Explorer was defectively unstable; (2) the Explorer was not crashworthy due to a defect in the roof; (3) Drew failed to warn the Wilsons that the Explorer was defectively unstable; and (4) Ford and Drew failed to warn the Wilsons of the danger posed by the defect in the roof. The jury awarded Mrs. Wilson $109,606,004 in damages for her injuries, consisting of $4,606,004 in economic damages and $105 million in noneconomic damages, and awarded Mr. Wilson $13 million for his loss of consortium. The jury also found that Ford acted with “oppression, fraud or malice” and awarded the Wilsons $246 million in punitive damages. The court later reduced Mrs. Wilson’s total compensatory damages award to $70 million, resulting in an award of $4,606,004 in economic damages…

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Parties

BENETTA BUELL-WILSON
Plaintiff
FORD MOTOR COMPANY
Defendant

Judges

Nares

Cites (58)

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100 Cal. App. 4th 887
35 Cal. App. 4th 1808
32 Cal. 3d 388
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