Case Facts

THE OTHER SIDE OF THE STORY
THE CHRYSLER "DEFECTIVE DOOR LATCH" CASE

A federal court jury in Charleston, South Carolina, assessed $250 million in punitive damages against the Chrysler Corp. on October 8, 1997, after finding that a 6-year-old boy died as the result of a defective rear gate latch on a minivan made by the nation's No. 3 auto maker. The jury also ordered Chrysler to pay the parents of Sergio Jimenez $12.5 million in actual damages.

Sergio Jimenez was killed in April 1994 when his parents' 1985 Dodge Caravan was struck on the driver's side rear tire by a Honda Accord. The boy was seated on the rear seat of the minivan, which was traveling about 25 mph. The Honda was traveling at 5 to 10 mph. The latch failed on impact, the rear gate opened, and Sergio flew out the back end. The boy suffered a skull fracture and died at the scene.

The Jimenez family's attorneys presented evidence during the month-long trial that:

• At least 37 passengers have been killed in accidents when they were ejected from rear lift gates opened on Chrysler Town and Country, Dodge Caravan or Plymouth Voyager minivans sold from 1984 through 1995, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). At least 134 backseat passengers have been ejected.
• Chrysler knew the rear gate latch design it chose to use was defective; that this type of latch had not been used in passenger doors since the 1960s; and that documents and crash test results related to the latch had been destroyed.
• Chrysler tried to use political muscle in Congress to prevent the government from ordering a recall of the defective latches on the popular -- and very profitable -- minivans. In a Dec. 9, 1994, internal memo, a top company official noted that Chrysler's vice president for Washington affairs suggested that "we mount an aggressive effort in Washington to prevent the adverse use of bureaucratic power within NHTSA . . . . If we want to use political pressure to try to squash a recall letter [from NHTSA] we need to go now."

In 1995, Chrysler notified owners of 4.2 million minivans built between 1984 and 1995 that it would replace their rear gate latches at no charge. To date, fewer than half of the latches have been replaced.

Safety advocates criticized NHTSA for allowing Chrysler to repair the minivans under a "service campaign" rather than an official recall, which would have required the company to use stronger wording to tell owners of the safety problem. In 1996 model minivans, the company incorporated a different latch design.

Several jurors said before the trial that they favored "tort reforms," including liability caps. After the trial, however, one juror told Dwares that the $250 million punitive damage award -- which represents about 3 percent of Chrysler's profit from minivans between 1987 and 1994 -- was the lowest amount discussed by the jury.

Article Reprinted with Permission from
American Association for Justice

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