Last week, a judge in Parmer County, Texas, granted summary judgment in a product liability lawsuit against Michelin North America, Inc. The lawsuit claimed a defective tire caused a single-vehicle rollover accident that occurred in Bovina, Texas, on April 9, 2014, and resulted in the death of the driver, Charles Jackson.
The judge in 287th Judicial District Court found that there was no evidence to support the plaintiff’s claim, brought by Jackson’s son, that the tire was defective. Further, the Court ruled that there was no evidence to support the plaintiff’s claim that Michelin had a responsibility to warn about the use of an 11-year-old Michelin tire.
The Court issued its summary judgment ruling two weeks before trial. Michelin was prepared to demonstrate to a jury that there was no defect in the tire and other factors contributed to the accident.
The Court’s decision comes on the heels of several other recent successes for Michelin in product liability lawsuits, including a unanimous defense verdict in Arizona in November 2015 and two other case dismissals in Texas earlier this year.
In response to the decision, Michelin said: “The Company values the Court's decision in this case and believes in the high quality of its tires and the rigorous efforts it takes to ensure the safety of its product. As the Company has demonstrated in recent months, Michelin will continually and vigorously defend its product in cases it knows are wholly without merit.”
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For media inquiries, please contact:
Tony Fouladpour
Michelin North America, Inc.
Office: 864-458-4335
Email: Tony.Fouladpour@us.michelin.com