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Date: 10-14-2013
Case Style: Victor Holleyman v. Ford Motor Company
Case Number: CJ-2011-4270
Judge: Carlos Chappelle
Court: District Court, Tulsa County, Oklahoma
Plaintiff's Attorney: Robert B. Waltman, Lynn Grisham, Donna Emenhiser, Michael P. Atkinson and J. Craig Buchan for Larry Click
Defendant's Attorney: Mary Quinn Cooper, Barbara Ellen Cordell and Andrew L. Richardson for Ford Motor Company
A. Mark Smiling for Timothy Lee Falling
Scott Alan Ryan for Matthew Wayne Belcher
Description: Victor Holleyman, Estate of Amber Holleyman and Larry Click sued Ford Motor Company, Timothy Lee Falling and Matthew Way Belcher on auto negligence and products liability theories.
The Pre-Trial Order entered by the Court provided in part:
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This is a products liability/negligence action arising out of a multi-vehicle automobile accident which occurred on February 17, 2004. On this date, the 2001 Ford Taurus in which Amber Holleyman was driving was struck from behind in the southbound lane of North 9th Street, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, by a 1990 Cadillac driven by Defendant, Timothy Falling. The impact from Defendant Timothy Falling’s Cadillac forced Amber Ho11e’man’s vehicle across the centerline and into the northbound lane of traffic of North 9th Street, where a collision occurred between Amber Holleyman’s 2001 Ford Taurus and a 2002 Chevrolet Suburban driven by Defendant, Matthew Beicher. Amber Holleyman suffered fatal injuries as a result of the colLision with Matthew Beicher’s vehicle. At the time of the collision, Amber Holleyrnan was belted by the safety belt restraint system in the 2001 Ford Taurus. Plaintiffs claim that Amber Holleyman’s death was directly caused by the unreasonably dangerous and unreasonably defective condition of the 2001 Ford Taurus and that Defendants, Ford Motor Company and Seminole Ford-Mercury, Inc., are liable to the Plaintiffs under the Oklahoma Doctrine of Manufacturers Product Liability, because the 2001 Ford Taurus lacked crashworthiness characteristics which made the vehicle defective and unreasonably dangerous beyond that which would be contemplated by the ordinary consumer. Plaintiffs claim that the 2001 Ford Taurus occupant restraint system, consisting of the seat belt, console/arm rest, and the B-pillar, is defective. The vehicle lacked available side airbags, and sufficient padding in the interior of the vehicle. In addition, Plaintiffs claim Defendant, Ford Motor Company, was negligent in designing the occupant restraint interior of the 2001 Ford Taurus, including, failure to adequately test the side-impact airbag system, failing to include side airbags as standard equipment, and failing to design the interior of the 2001 Ford Taurus with sufficient padding to avoid a fatal head injury in an otherwise foreseeable and survivable collision. Plaintiffs further claim that Amber 1-Iolleyman’s death was caused by the negligence of Defendants, Timothy Falling and Matthew Beleher, in one or more of the following respects: In failing to keep a careful lookout; In driving too fast for the conditions on North 9th Street in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, at the time of the collision; In failing to exercise ordinary care with due regard to existing conditions; In failing to exercise ordinary care to prevent an accident.
2. Defendant Ford’s General Statement of Facts:
Plaintiffs on August 3, 2011, resulting from a collision involving three motor vehicles. On the afternoon of February 17, 2004, Plaintiffs’ decedent, Amber Holleyman, belted by the safety belt restraint system in the 2001 Ford Taurus. Plaintiffs claim that Amber Holleyman’s death was directly caused by the unreasonably dangerous and unreasonably defective condition of the 2001 Ford Taurus and that Defendants, Ford Motor Company and Seminole Ford-Mercury, Inc., are liable to the Plaintiffs under the Oklahoma Doctrine of Manufacturers Product Liability, because the 2001 Ford Taurus lacked crashworthiness characteristics which made the vehicle defective and unreasonably dangerous beyond that which would be contemplated by the ordinary consumer. Plaintiffs claim that the 2001 Ford Taurus occupant restraint system, consisting of the seat belt, console/arm rest, and the B-pillar, is defective. The vehicle lacked available side airbags, and sufficient padding in the interior of the vehicle. In addition, Plaintiffs claim Defendant, Ford Motor Company, was negligent in designing the occupant restraint interior of the 2001 Ford Taurus, including, failure to adequately test the side-impact airbag system, failing to include side airbags as standard equipment, and failing to design the interior of the 2001 Ford Taurus with sufficient padding to avoid a fatal head injury in an otherwise foreseeable and survivable collision. Plaintiffs further claim that Amber 1-Iolleyman’s death was caused by the negligence of Defendants, Timothy Falling and Matthew Beleher, in one or more of the following respects: In failing to keep a careful lookout; In driving too fast for the conditions on North 9th Street in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, at the time of the collision; In failing to exercise ordinary care with due regard to existing conditions; In failing to exercise ordinary care to prevent an accident.
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The pre-trial order was 601 pages long!
The statement of the case read to the jury by the Judge stated:
On February 17, 2004, the Defendant Timothy Falling struck Amber Holleyman’s 2001 Ford Taurus from behind in the southbound lane of North 9th street, in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. Amber Holleyman’s vehicle then entered into the northbound lane of traffic of North street where it was struck by the Defendant Matthew Belcher. Amber Holleyman suffered fatal injuries as a result.
The Defendants, Falling, Belcher, and Ford Motor Company are being sued for negligence, and Ford Motor Company is also being sued for products liability.
At the time of the collision, Amber Holleyman was belted by the safety belt restraint system in the 2001 Ford Taurus.
Plaintiffs claim that Amber Holleyman’s death was directly caused by a defective and unreasonably dangerous condition of the 2001 Ford Taurus and that Defendant, Ford Motor Company is liable to the Plaintiffs under the Oklahoma Doctrine of Manufacturers Product Liability, because the 2001 Ford Taurus lacked crashworthiness characteristics which made the vehicle defective and unreasonably dangerous beyond that which would be contemplated by the ordinary consumer. Plaintiffs claim the 2001 Ford Taurus lacked available side airbags.
In addition, Plaintiffs claim Defendant, Ford Motor Company, was negligent in failing to include side impact airbags as standard equipment, in the 2001 Ford Taurus.
Plaintiffs further claim that Amber Holleyman’s death was caused by the negligence of Defendants, Timothy Falling and Matthew Belcher, in one or more of the following respects:
A. In failing to keep a careful lookout;
B. In driving to fast for the conditions on North 9th Street in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, at the time of the collision;
C. In failing to exercise ordinary care with due regard to existing conditions;
D. In failing to exercise ordinary care to prevent an accident. Defendant Falling admits that his vehicle struck the rear of the Plaintiff’s vehicle, but denies that this impact as the result of his actions was sufficient to cause the death of the Plaintiff.
Defendant Belcher denies that he was negligent.
Defendant Ford Motor Company denies that the 2001 Ford Taurus was defective and unreasonably dangerous. Ford Motor Company denies that a defect caused Plaintiffs’ claimed damages. Ford Motor Company claims that the 2001 Ford Taurus met applicable safety standards and was reasonably safe when it left Ford’s control. Ford Motor Company denies it was negligent.
Outcome: 09-13-2013 DISPJD 1 BELCHER, MATTHEW WAYNE 86724580 Sep 16 2013 9:05:46:363AM - $ 0.00 CASE NUMBER - CJ-2011-4270 JUDGE CARLOS J. CHAPPELLE DATE - SEPT 13, 2013
VICTOR HOLLEYMAN III V. FORD MOTOR CO, TIMOTHY LEE FALLING, MATTHEW WAYNE BELCHER
CASE CALLED FOR JURY TRIAL. BOTH SIDES PRESENT IN OPEN COURT AND ANNOUNCE READY FOR TRIAL - PLAINTIFF PRESENT AND REPRESENTED BY MIKE ATKINSON, CRAIG BUCHAN, ROBERT WALTMAN, LYNN GRISHAM AND DONNA EMENHISER. DEFENDANT FORD REPRESENTED BY MARY QUINN COOPER, ANDY RICHARDSON, MICHAEL SMITH AND BARBARA CORDELL. DEFENDANT FALLING REPRESENTED BY MARK SMILING. DEFENDANT BELCHER REPRESENTED BY SCOTT RYAN. THE JURORS ARE CALLED AND SWORN TO QUALIFICATIONS. THE JURY IS EMPANELED AND EXAMINED FOR CAUSE.
FOURTEEN JURORS ARE EXCUSED FOR CAUSE.
THE JURORS ARE ACCEPTED FOR CAUSE.
OPENING STATEMENTS ARE MADE. EIGHTEEN WITNESSES ARE SWORN. RULE NOT INVOKED. REPORTER TAISHA IRONS AND SHANNON HARWOOD; PLAINTIFF PRESENTS EVIDENCE AND RESTS. DEFENDANT DEMURS AND DEMURRER IS OVERRULED. DEFENDANT PRESENTS EVIDENCE AND RESTS. DEFENDANT RENEWS HIS DEMURRER AND THE DEMURRER IS OVERRULED. DEFENDANT MOVES FOR DIRECTED VERDICT AND IS OVERRULED. BOTH SIDES REST.
THE JURY IS INSTRUCTED AS TO THE LAW. CLOSING ARGUMENTS ARE MADE. THE SWEARING OF THE BAILIFF IS WAIVED AND THE JURY RETIRES FOR DELIBERATION IN THE CUSTODY OF THE BAILIFF. THE JURY RETURNS INTO OPEN COURT WITH THEIR VERDICT, WHICH IS READ IN OPEN COURT, ORDERED RECORDED AND FILED, AND IS, TO WIT:
1. WE DO FIND IN FAVOR OF PLAINTIFFS ON CLAIM OF NEGLIGENCE AGAINST DEFENDANT, TIMOTHY LEE FALLING.
2. WE DO NOT FIND IN FAVOR OF PLAINTIFFS ON CLAIM OF NEGLIGENCE AGAINST DEFENDANT, MATTHEW WAYNE BELCHER.
3. WE DO NOT FIND IN FAVOR OF PLAINTIFFS ON CLAIM OF NEGLIGENCE AGAINST DEFENDANT, FORD MOTOR COMPANY.
4. YOUR TOTAL OF THE COMBINED FAULT FOR THOSE DEFENDANTS MUST EQUAL 100%: TIMOTHY LEE FALLING IS 100% AT FAULT.
5. WE DO NOT FIND IN FAVOR OF PLAINTIFFS ON CLAIM OF MANUFACTURERS' PRODUCTS LIABILITY AGAINST DEFENDANT FORD MOTOR COMPANY.
6. IF YOU FOUND NEGLIGENCE ON ONE OR MORE OF THE DEFENDANTS, OR IF YOU FOUND IN FAVOR OF PLAINTIFFS AGAINST DEFENDANT FORD MOTOR COMPANY ON MANUFACTURERS' PRODUCTS LIABILITY, THEN YOU MUST FIX THE DOLLAR AMOUNT OF PLAINTIFFS' DAMAGES. WHAT IS THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF DAMAGES SUFFERED BY PLAINTIFFS? $200,000.00.
09-13-2013 DISPJD 2 BELCHER, MATTHEW WAYNE 86724581 Sep 16 2013 9:05:46:413AM - $ 0.00
CASE NUMBER - CJ-2011-4270 JUDGE CARLOS J. CHAPPELLE DATE - SEPT 13, 2013
VICTOR HOLLEYMAN III V. FORD MOTOR CO, TIMOTHY LEE FALLING, MATTHEW WAYNE BELCHER
CASE CALLED FOR JURY TRIAL. BOTH SIDES PRESENT IN OPEN COURT AND ANNOUNCE READY FOR TRIAL - PLAINTIFF PRESENT AND REPRESENTED BY MIKE ATKINSON, CRAIG BUCHAN, ROBERT WALTMAN, LYNN GRISHAM AND DONNA EMENHISER. DEFENDANT FORD REPRESENTED BY MARY QUINN COOPER, ANDY RICHARDSON, MICHAEL SMITH AND BARBARA CORDELL. DEFENDANT FALLING REPRESENTED BY MARK SMILING. DEFENDANT BELCHER REPRESENTED BY SCOTT RYAN. THE JURORS ARE CALLED AND SWORN TO QUALIFICATIONS. THE JURY IS EMPANELED AND EXAMINED FOR CAUSE.
FOURTEEN JURORS ARE EXCUSED FOR CAUSE.
THE JURORS ARE ACCEPTED FOR CAUSE.
OPENING STATEMENTS ARE MADE. EIGHTEEN WITNESSES ARE SWORN. RULE NOT INVOKED. REPORTER TAISHA IRONS AND SHANNON HARWOOD; PLAINTIFF PRESENTS EVIDENCE AND RESTS. DEFENDANT DEMURS AND DEMURRER IS OVERRULED. DEFENDANT PRESENTS EVIDENCE AND RESTS. DEFENDANT RENEWS HIS DEMURRER AND THE DEMURRER IS OVERRULED. DEFENDANT MOVES FOR DIRECTED VERDICT AND IS OVERRULED. BOTH SIDES REST.
THE JURY IS INSTRUCTED AS TO THE LAW. CLOSING ARGUMENTS ARE MADE. THE SWEARING OF THE BAILIFF IS WAIVED AND THE JURY RETIRES FOR DELIBERATION IN THE CUSTODY OF THE BAILIFF. THE JURY RETURNS INTO OPEN COURT WITH THEIR VERDICT, WHICH IS READ IN OPEN COURT, ORDERED RECORDED AND FILED, AND IS, TO WIT:
1. WE DO FIND IN FAVOR OF PLAINTIFFS ON CLAIM OF NEGLIGENCE AGAINST DEFENDANT, TIMOTHY LEE FALLING.
2. WE DO NOT FIND IN FAVOR OF PLAINTIFFS ON CLAIM OF NEGLIGENCE AGAINST DEFENDANT, MATTHEW WAYNE BELCHER.
3. WE DO NOT FIND IN FAVOR OF PLAINTIFFS ON CLAIM OF NEGLIGENCE AGAINST DEFENDANT, FORD MOTOR COMPANY.
4. YOUR TOTAL OF THE COMBINED FAULT FOR THOSE DEFENDANTS MUST EQUAL 100%: TIMOTHY LEE FALLING IS 100% AT FAULT.
5. WE DO NOT FIND IN FAVOR OF PLAINTIFFS ON CLAIM OF MANUFACTURERS' PRODUCTS LIABILITY AGAINST DEFENDANT FORD MOTOR COMPANY.
6. IF YOU FOUND NEGLIGENCE ON ONE OR MORE OF THE DEFENDANTS, OR IF YOU FOUND IN FAVOR OF PLAINTIFFS AGAINST DEFENDANT FORD MOTOR COMPANY ON MANUFACTURERS' PRODUCTS LIABILITY, THEN YOU MUST FIX THE DOLLAR AMOUNT OF PLAINTIFFS' DAMAGES. WHAT IS THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF DAMAGES SUFFERED BY PLAINTIFFS? $200,000.00.
Plaintiff's Experts:
Defendant's Experts:
Comments: