Consumers who owned certain types of Bridgestone-Firestone tires between 1991 and 2001 are affected.
By Wire services
Published March 16, 2004
HOUSTON - A Texas state judge on Monday approved a $149-million settlement of 30 class-action lawsuits filed on behalf of owners of Bridgestone-Firestone tires.
The settlement, approved by state District Judge Donald Floyd in Beaumont, comes more than three years after the 2000 recall of 14.4-million potentially defective Firestone tires.
At least 271 U.S. traffic deaths have been blamed on the tires, most of which were sold with the Ford Explorer. However, the settlement involved only plaintiffs who had not suffered any injuries or property damage.
The settlement calls for Bridgestone-Firestone North American Tire to pay an estimated $70-million to replace tires, $41-million to manufacture better tires, $15.5-million on a consumer education campaign, and $19-million for attorneys' fees. The company also has paid $3.5-million to notify owners of the settlement.
The settlement could affect 15-million people. The 45 named plaintiffs each could receive up to $2,500. Those who are not named but owned one of 22 brands of Bridgestone-Firestone tires between 1991 and 2001 can have their tires replaced.
"We are pleased with the judge's decision," Firestone spokesman Dan MacDonald said. "We believe that this settlement really is in the best interest of all concerned."
More than 100 people had objected to the proposed settlement.
Attorney Mitchell Toups said that the judge should not have approved it and that he and others plan to appeal.
"This is really no settlement at all. Everything in the settlement was already being done by Firestone," Toups said.
The lawsuits resolved include those filed by Firestone ATX, ATX II and Wilderness AT customers whose tires were among those investigated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in 2000. The tires came apart on the highway and were blamed for deadly rollover accidents.
"We believe this will make the roads safer and in the long run, it will save lives," MacDonald said. "It is another important step to putting this whole matter behind us."
Bridgestone-Firestone said it agreed to the proposed settlement last July to avoid drawn-out litigation.
