Facts

On Jan. 9, 2001, defendant driver was traveling northbound on Interstate 15 at 70 mph near the California/Nevada border in his 1997 minivan when he lost control of the vehicle which rolled over three times. Four occupants were ejected and killed. Three occupants were not ejected and received minor injuries.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS:
The plaintiffs contended that the loss of control was the driver's fault, not the manufacturer.

The plaintiffs also contended that all four ejected passengers had been belted. Their restraints used pendulum sensors. The front restraints used ball and cup sensors. The rear center restraint was a manual lap belt only. The three occupants with restraints that did not include pendulum sensors were not ejected. The four restraints that did include pendulum sensors were defective because they spooled out between eight and sixteen inches.

The plaintiffs further contended that the sliding side door of the minivan detached, opening an exit portal through which two occupants were ejected. The sliding door was defective because it only had a rear latch and not a front latch.

Finally, the plaintiffs contended that all of the tempered glass broke, opening exit portals through which two occupants were ejected. The plaintiffs did not claim this as a "defect", but presented evidence, primarily through cross-examination of the auto manufacturer's expert, that laminated glass could have maintained a sealed (except for the door) container for precious human cargo.

DEFENDANT’S CONTENTIONS:
The defendant driver contended that the minivan was cut off by a semi-trailer, it swerved to avoid the semi, control was lost and it rolled over.

The defendant manufacturer contended that the driver fell asleep at the wheel. A rollover accident at 70 mph with three rolls is a violent accident; less than one in 100 rollover accidents involve three rolls; it is impossible to guarantee occupant safety during such an accident. All ejected occupants had been sleeping, slouching and/or semi reclined; were "out of position" and had significant slack in their restraints. One occupant was essentially unrestrained because his restraint was not anchored to the removable seat, thereby depriving him of a lap belt. The C pillars and D pillars supporting the roof deformed inward during the rollover thereby inducing an additional five inches to eight inches of slack at all four outboard seating positions.

The defendant manufacturer also contended that the door latch designed was commonly used in all competitor minivans. The minivan rolled over a boulder, which struck it at the roof rail/C pillar and broke the door latch causing it to detach. One ejection occurred through the door portal.

The defendant manufacturer further contended that the laminated glass provides no clear benefits over tempered glass. Sole substitution of laminated glass has never been proven to be effective.

Injuries

Four fatalities. Negligent infliction of emotional distress.

Result

$8.5 million settlement after 28 days of jury trial.