Date: 12-19-2003

Case Style: Lydia Mae Cloud v. General Motors Corporation, Davis Oil, Inc., Southwest Pump Company, Dover Corporation, Phillips Petroleum Company,

Case Number: CJ-02-00069

Judge: Joe Sam Vassar

Court: District Court, Creek County, Oklahoma

Plaintiff's Attorney: James E. Frasier of Frasier, Frasier & Hickman, Tulsa, Oklahoma

Defendant's Attorney: D. Lynn Babb and Frances E. Patton of Pierce Couch Hendrickson Baysinger & Green, L.L.P., Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Kenneth Yates, The Robinson Law Firm, Tulsa, Oklahoma

Kenneth E. Wagner of Latham, Stall, Wagner, Steele & Lehman, Tulsa, Oklahoma

Description: Products liability claim by convenience store patron who was severely burned in a flash fire cause by a buildup of static electricity while she was refueling her automobile in Bristow, Oklahoma. She started fueling her pickup and set the hold-open latch on the nozzle. She then reached into her truck and turned the ignition on to check the fuel level in the tank. When she turned around to take hold of the nozzle she saw flames around the filler neck. She tried to take the nozzle out of the filler spout and suddenly a large fire erupted and Cloud ran from the truck with her clothes burning. She suffered serious burns on her hand and torso.

Outcome: Settled for $2 million.

Plaintiff's Experts: Unknown

Defendant's Experts: Unknown

Comments: The Frasier firm settled a wrongful death claim in 2001 for $3 million in a case where the woman fueling her car burned to death under similar circumstances.