Supreme Court Rules Unanimously in Ford Motor Case

car crash accident

In a March 2021 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled against the Ford Motor Company. Ford’s lawyers had attempted to show that, since the auto company was based in Michigan and had tenuous legal ties to the states, that people suing the auto manufacturer could not bring their cases in state courts outside of Michigan.

Minnesota and Montana were the locations of the lawsuits in question. Ford suggested that, since their cars were originally sold in Michigan and then re-sold in Minnesota and Montana, their legal ties to those other states were too tenuous to be sued in those other locations.

In the court’s majority opinion, Justice Elena Kagan wrote that the tie “between the Plaintiff’s claims and Ford’s activities in those States” is close enough that the lawsuits should continue. Since Ford advertises in Montana and Minnesota, and automobile buyers consider themselves to be buying vehicles from Ford – whether these cars are new or used – the relationship is close enough to be legally binding. Justice Kagan’s decision is available to read online.

The car accident lawsuits in question both happened in 2015. In Montana, Markkaya Gullett had died when a rear tire malfunctioned on her 1996 Ford Explorer. The tread had separated from a rear tire. Gullett, who was married with two children, died instantly at the accident scene after the Explorer rolled into a ditch and landed upside-down.

In Minnesota, Adam Bandemer suffered serious brain injuries after a collision. Bandemer had been a passenger in a 1994 Crown Victoria that rear-ended a snow plow. The passenger-side airbag failed to deploy in the collision.
Ford attempted to dismiss both lawsuits, but the highest courts in Montana and Minnesota had ruled against their attempts. Ford appealed these cases all the way to the Supreme Court.