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Samurai Rollover: Panic, not a stability defect,
caused the accident, said Suzelle Smith, and won
Products Liability
CASE: Heath v. Suzuki Motor Corp., CV 295-164 (S.D. Ga.)
PLAINTIFF'S ATTORNEYS: James E. Butler Jr., of the Columbus,
Ga., office and Robert D. Cheeley, of the Atlanta office of Columbus'
Butler, Wooten, Overby, Cheeley, Pearson & Fryhofer
DEFENSE ATTORNEYS: Suzelle M. Smith, of Los Angeles' Howarth
& Smith; Wallace E. Harrell, of Brunswick, Ga.'s Gilbert,
Harrell, Gilbert, Sumerford & Martin P.C. and Larry M. Roth,
of Orlando, Fla.'s Roth, Edwards & Smith P.A.
DATE OF VERDICT: June 11, 1996
In September 1991, James H. Heath was driving his father's
1987 Suzuki Samurai on St. Mary's, Ga., when it was sideswiped
by a Jeep Wrangler. The contact was minor, said plaintiff's attorney
Robert D. Cheeley. But, he said, "the Samurai went out of
control and rolled over." Mr. Heath, then 16 years old, was
ejected from the vehicle; the accident left him a paraplegic.
His passenger, Monica Guinn, was also ejected and died of her
injuries.
Mr. Heath sued Suzuki Motor Corp. and American Suzuki Motor
Corp., charging that the Samurai "had a handling and stability
defect; in particular, it had an unreasonable rollover propensity,"
said Mr. Cheeley. Suzuki is facing a number of products liability
actions involving the Samurai; in July 1995, Mr. Cheeley and co-counsel
James E. Butler Jr. won a $90 million jury verdict against the
company in another Samurai rollover case. That award was later
reduced to $40 million, then reversed and remanded for new trial.
Suzuki denied any defects in the Samurai, which American Suzuki
general counsel George F. Ball called "one of the safest
sports utility vehicles on the road." In the Heath accident,
added defense counsel Suzelle M. Smith, the Samurai flipped over
when Mr. Heath put it into "a left-hand panic steer and the
wheels dug into the sandy soil [of the highway's shoulder]. Any
vehicle would have rolled over."
The trial was trifurcated, with liability and causation handled
first. The jury never considered damages, returning a complete
defense verdict June 11. The plaintiff filed motions for a new
trial, contending that the trial court's charge to the jury was
incorrect and that the court improperly admitted evidence for
Suzuki. These motions were denied in August. The verdict has been
appealed. So far, Suzuki has won three of the four Samurai rollover
cases that have gone to a jury, Mr. Ball said, "and we won
the fourth on appeal."
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