Texas judge postpones retrial in BFS rollover case

BAY CITY, Texas (Oct. 8)—A Texas district court judge has postponed the retrial of a multimillion-dollar product liability lawsuit against Bridgestone/Firestone and U-Haul Inc. Mikal Watts, an attorney for the plaintiffs in the case, moved for a change of venue because about three-fourths of the prospective jurors said in a court questionnaire that they had some level of bias caused by news reports of the case. Judge Craig Estlinbaum, who declared a mistrial in the original case April 5, set Nov. 26 as the hearing date for Watts' motion and gave both sides 45 days to present arguments. The case involves three young women who were injured—including one left paralyzed and speechless—in the 1999 rollover of their Ford Explorer and U-Haul trailer. Plaintiffs claim two faulty steel belts in a Firestone Wilderness AT tire helped cause the rollover, a charge BFS says is false.