Ohio Jury Finds That DaimlerChrysler Corporation Was Not Responsible For Man's Death

DaimlerChrysler Corporation scored a legal victory yesterday when an Ohio jury concluded that the company was not responsible for the death of an 80-year-old man. After just one hour of deliberation, the jury found that Fred Holland mistakenly placed his 1989 Dodge Caravan in reverse causing it to run over him as he tried to re-enter the minivan.

Following the August 7, 1996 accident, Mr. Holland's family filed a multi-million dollar wrongful death lawsuit in the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas against the former Chrysler Corporation. Plaintiffs alleged that the minivan was defective because it moved from park to reverse by itself causing Mr. Holland's death. However, the jury disagreed, and refused to award the family any money.

"While the accident was a tragedy, the jury properly based its decision on the facts and the law, rather than emotion. The bottom line is that when you place a minivan in reverse, it is going to back up," said Ken Gluckman, DaimlerChrysler's Assistant General Counsel. "This case is about personal responsibility, not product liability."

An officer from the Hinckley (Ohio) Police Department testified at trial that when he arrived at the scene, he checked the transmission inside the minivan and found the shift lever in the reverse position. DaimlerChrysler Corporation experts also blamed the accident on human error contending there was nothing wrong with the vehicle's transmission.

Larry Sutter of Reminger and Reminger, Cleveland, Ohio and Rodger Kesley, DaimlerChrysler Corporation Senior Staff Counsel, represented the company in the four-day trial with the Honorable William Aurelius presiding.