Preview

Legal Analysis Grimshaw V Ford Motor Company

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1441 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Legal Analysis Grimshaw V Ford Motor Company
Legal Analysis
Grimshaw v. Ford Motor Company

Facts

In 1972 a Ford Pinto, purchased six months prior, unexpectedly stalled on the freeway in California. The Pinto was hit from behind by a Ford Galaxy, erupting into flames instantly. The driver of the car, Lilly Gray, suffered from fatal burns and died a few days later in the hospital. The passenger, a 13-year old boy named Richard Grimshaw, was also severely injured from burns, which caused his face and body to be permanently disfigured.

After analyzing the cause of the crash, experts identified that there were significant design deficiencies of the Pinto made by Ford Motor Company and the company was knowledgeable of these deficiencies before launching it into the market for consumers.

Richard Grimshaw and the surviving family members of Lilly Gray sued Ford Motor Company for negligence and strict liability. In the original verdict Richard Grimshaw was awarded $2,516,000 for compensatory damages and $125 million in punitive damages. The Gray’s were awarded $559,680 in compensatory damages. Because of a motion filed by Ford Motor Company the punitive damages awarded to Richard Grimshaw was later reduced to $3.5 million.

Ford Motor Company appealed to the court claiming there were several errors during the trial including the misconduct of counsel and the high punitive damage ward given to Richard Grimshaw. Both Grimshaw and the Gray family cross-appealed both addressing the punitive damage issue. May 29, 1981, The Court of Appeal of California, Fourth Appellate District, Division Two, affirmed a trial court judgment that the jury’s punitive damages award was reasonable.

During the trial there were four factors indentified that proved negligence and strict liability by Ford Motor Company. The design of the Pinto fuel system, the knowledge or failed crash tests by the Pinto prior to placing the car in the market, the Ford Motor Company cost benefit analysis, and the management’s decision to go forward

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    Comm 101

    • 1480 Words
    • 6 Pages

    References: Leggett, C 1999, ‘The Ford Pinto Case: The Valuation of Life as It Applies to the Negligence-Efficiency Argument’, Accessed 25/8/2012, http://www.wfu.edu/~palmitar/Law&Valuation/Papers/1999/Leggett-pinto.html…

    • 1480 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Memorandum - Tort Law

    • 1047 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Nancy Denny (Plaintiff) was driving her Ford Bronco II in June of 1986, when she slammed on the brakes to avoid hitting a deer that had walked in front of her vehicle. The plaintiff’s car rolled over and the plaintiff was severely injured. Plaintiff sued Ford Motor Company (defendant) for negligence, strict product liability, and breach of implied warranty under the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC). Jury trial returned a mixed verdict stating the Bronco was not defective therefore no tort liability was found. Jury did return a verdict that Ford had violated the implied warranty of merchantability resulting in a breach of contract. Final judgment rendered by Court of Appeals of New York in determining if tort action for strict product liability and contract action for implied warranty are the same in this case. “The jury was instructed to consider separately Ford’s tort liability for sale of an unreasonably dangerous product and contract liability for breach of the implied warranty of merchantability. Judgment for the plaintiff affirmed.” (Halbert & Ingulli, 2012)…

    • 1047 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Haugen Vs Ford Summary

    • 285 Words
    • 2 Pages

    In Haugen v. Ford Motor Co., the requirement of Article 2-302(2) that the court required an affording opportunity for the buyer to present evidence to aid the court in making a determination. In this case, Plaintiff buyer challenged the judgment of the District Court of Williams County (North Dakota) that granted summary judg-ment in favor of defendant manufacturer dismissing the buyer's damage claim based on a liability exclusion for damage from fire. The buyer filed a complaint against the man-ufacturer when the car he bought burst into flames while he drove it. The manufacturer was awarded summary judgment dismissing the buyer's claim based on a liability ex-clusion for damage from fire included in the limitation of liability. The court…

    • 285 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker that was incorporated on June 16, 1903 by Henry Ford. In today’s world Ford is the second largest automaker in the U.S. and the fifth-largest in the world based on annual vehicle sales in 2010. Henry Ford became famous for his methods of large scale manufacturing, management and the use of the assembly lines in his factories. Another very important event in the history of Ford Motor Company, and also a very important case in legal terms, was Dodge v. Ford Motor Company, 170 N.W. 668, Michigan Supreme Court 1919. This case was very important to the legal system because it reinforced the idea that corporations are accountable to making a profit for the stockholders.…

    • 716 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Ford Pinto Case

    • 422 Words
    • 2 Pages

    External social pressures play a big part in the decision reached about the Ford Motor Company. When you have highly respected individuals such as retired NASA engineer Dr. Leslie Ball say “The release to production of the Pinto was the most reprehensible decision in the history of American Engineering” (Newton, Ford, 2007, p. 1); there is cause for concern. There would be more social pressure today as opposed to the 70’s simply because of the availability of internet. There were a number of options that Ford had that would of prevented the deaths of so many people yet it was not done until eight years after the release of the first model. Lee Iacocca’s favorite saying was “Safety doesn’t sell cars (Newton, Ford, 2007, p. 1)”. Society today would not tolerate nor accept that kind of philosophy from corporations today. Ethically or morally is it right to put value on a human life as Ford did when doing their cost analysis.…

    • 422 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Pinto’s problems originated with placement of the gas tank. It was customary to place the gas tank between the rear axle and the bumper to give the vehicle more truck space. However, on the Pinto the gas tank was only nine inches away from the rear axle and on the rear axles transfer case were bolts that stuck out facing the rear bumper of the vehicle. When the Pinto was rear ended, the gas tank would be forced up to the rear axle, and the transfer case bolts would puncture the gas tank. Also the fuel filler pipe was poorly designed and could easily become detached in a rear end collision, causing gasoline to spill over the ground. This was the cause of the numerous large fires and the gas tank tendency to explode. Explosions of the gas tank occurred at any collision at or above thirty one miles per hour. The doors on the Pinto would tend to jam shut when rear ended at high speeds, causing victims to burn…

    • 1085 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Ford Motor Company, led by President Lee Iacocca, discovered that during the sped up engineering and production process it had created the fuel tank vulnerable to fiery rear crashes because of the layout of the car.…

    • 1455 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ford Pinto Case Study

    • 541 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Ford used the cost-benefit analysis approach in order to determine when and how to launch the newly designed Pinto. Thus, the Ford Motor Co. attempted to compare the utility of the product (car) to the value of human life. It caused hundreds of deaths, serious harms and loss done to the customers and their families involved in the rear-end collision car accidents resulting from the flaw of gas tank in the rear of the car. The company thought that the number of such cases would rather be small, and the cost of damage was approximately $200,725…

    • 541 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Case Analysis Ford Pinto

    • 783 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Ford Pinto designs had the placement of the fuel tank behind the rear axle. The fuel tank position has allowed the projecting bolts to puncture the tank when the vehicle was struck from the rear. The Ford Motor Company had decided not to change the fuel tanks design location in order to reduce the production costs. Ford Motor Company determined there would be a savings of approximately $20.9 million dollars. Between the years of 1971 and 1978 the Ford Motor Company faced about 50 lawsuits in connection to the Ford Pinto collisions. The obvious question is who is responsible or aware of the design flaws of the fuel tank placement. Furthermore what are the ethical dilemmas associated with this case study? I hope to determine whether Ford was to blame for Ford Pinto collision outcomes.…

    • 783 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Ford Pinto Case

    • 1469 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Very few 20 to 30 year olds know of the Ford Pinto Supreme Court case; however, most are likely familiar with the more recent “Bridgestone/Firestone scandal affecting scores of tires installed on new Ford Explorer vehicles. Additionally, Ford experienced significant safety concerns on the full size Crown Victoria Police cruisers, for yes, ruptured fuel tanks” (Corporatenarc, 2010). Scandals and Ford Motor Company are becoming synonymous terms for many car buyers, although Ford continues to clear themselves of these unethical issues through prolific counsel and stiff political lobbying. Whereas Ford remains in business, many lives have been lost as a consequence to Ford’s unethical and irresponsible behavior, defining Ford’s lack of respect for customers and human life. Ford has been marginally successful throughout the years, but unfortunately for Ford, Forbes Magazine has labeled the Ford Pinto as one of the “worst cars ever” (Lienert, 2004).…

    • 1469 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    capm

    • 1772 Words
    • 8 Pages

    The case involving the explosion of Ford Pinto's due to a defective fuel system design led to the debate of many issues, most centering around the use by Ford of a cost-benefit analysis and the ethics surrounding its decision not to upgrade the fuel system based on this analysis.…

    • 1772 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Pinto Ford Case

    • 1062 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Shaw, Gary T. "The Myth of the Ford Pinto Case." Rutgers Law Review 43.1013 (1991): 1013-068. Print.…

    • 1062 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Pinto Fire Case Analysis

    • 423 Words
    • 2 Pages

    3.) Having forgone decision one the next decision available to the decision makers was to implement the modification discovered to reduce the fuel tank design issue. Had ford done this they may have incurred extra costs so late in the production and given that there consumer profile for the Pinto said they were price conscious means the company stands to lose out on potential sales if this was done.…

    • 423 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Criminal Procedures

    • 574 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Ninth Court of Appeals remanded the case back to the district court for entry of judgment for Officers Cardwood and Taylor. The court sent the case back because they felt that the trial judge was wrong…

    • 574 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Bragdon V. Abbott

    • 1814 Words
    • 8 Pages

    The Oyez Project at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law. (2001) Toyota Motor Mfg v. Williams…

    • 1814 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays