Products Liability Law Reporter

Before a family road trip, Tommy Stone purchased a used tire at Nueva Agencia Llantera Mil Amores Tires. Stone subsequently installed the tire, a Firestone Wilderness LE, on the rear driver’s side of his truck. Stone and his then-girlfriend, Regina Michelle Davis, 55, along with her three grandchildren, Javion Hendrix, 10; Jamari Hendrix, 9; and Jaiouni Hendrix, 5, left for the road trip. Two days later, while they were driving home from Albuquerque, a tread separation occurred. Stone lost control of the truck, which left the roadway and rolled over multiple times.

Davis suffered a fractured neck and back, broken ribs, and arm injuries. She underwent spinal surgery and required physical therapy. A Southwest Airlines gate agent earning more than $43,600 annually, she incurred approximately $498,700 in medical expenses and has not returned to work. Stone suffered multiple broken ribs and a fractured back. He was hospitalized, required a walker and daily pain medication, and had limited mobility for approximately six months. Stone, a plumber and home renovator whose medical expenses exceeded $121,100, incurred lost income of $30,000. Jamari was brought by helicopter to a hospital, where he spent three days receiving treatment for the glass in his face, a concussion, and a lung contusion. His medical expenses totaled more than $36,900. Javion, who also required an air evacuation, spent almost a week in the hospital for treatment of a fractured arm, ear trauma, and a head injury. He now suffers from migraine headaches. His medical expenses were over $36,900. Jaiouni suffered minor injuries in the rollover.

Stone, Davis, and the children’s mother, on their behalf, sued the tire shop, alleging it had negligently sold Stone a defective tire that was nearly 14 years old. The plaintiffs asserted that older tires suffer from oxidative degradation and should never be installed on any vehicle. Moreover, the plaintiffs asserted that the defendant should have told Stone about the age of the tire.

The court awarded over $2.51 million, concluding that the plaintiffs were not comparatively at fault.

Citation: Stone v. Bridgestone Americas, Inc., No. CV2018-008445 (Ariz. Super. Ct. Maricopa Cnty. Sept. 26, 2022).

Plaintiff counsel: Michael E. Medina Jr., Steven Weinberger, and Nathaniel B. Preston, all of Scottsdale, Ariz.

Comment: In Shelter Gen. Ins. Co. v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., 2023 WL 2648014 (D. Colo. Mar. 27, 2023), Thomas Chevrier was driving a semi-tractor on a Colorado highway when its left tire blew out, causing the vehicle to cross the center line and collide with another vehicle. Shelter General Insurance Co., which insured the semi-tractor’s owner, sued Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co., the manufacturer of the semi-tractor’s radial tire, alleging strict liability and negligence, among other claims. The defendant moved for summary judgment. Denying the motion, in part, the district court found that a reasonable jury could find from the testimony of the plaintiff’s tire expert that a manufacturing defect had occurred in the tire and that its automatic defect detection system, known as the YXLON ADR system, failed to detect the defect. Donald G. Moore, Denver, represented the plaintiff in this case.