Ford, Firestone settle in Calif. lawsuit

LOS ANGELES (July 17)—Ford Motor Co. and Bridgestone/Firestone have settled a wrongful death/rollover lawsuit that would have been the first to go to trial against both companies. Ford and Bridgestone/Firestone faced a suit from the family of Garry and Amy Meek, a grandfather and granddaughter killed in the August 2000 rollover of their Ford Explorer equipped with Firestone tires. A tread separation allegedly caused the accident. "Since the outset, we have been hopeful that we could reach a fair settlement that would also bring closure to the family following this accident," Bridgestone/Firestone said in a news release. "The family feels it has satisfied its goal of holding Ford and Firestone accountable," Laurie L. Quigley, an attorney with the law firm Lang, Richert & Patch which represented the Meeks, said in a news release