— A Ford Explorer carbon monoxide lawsuit filed in 2019 by six Washington police officers is apparently over, but not in a way that is exactly normal.
The original class action lawsuit included 2011-2018 Ford Explorers with alleged defects that caused exhaust fumes and carbon monoxide to sicken Explorer occupants.
The lawsuit was filed at a time when numerous class actions were filed against Ford about exhaust fumes entering the Explorers, including Ford Explorer Police Interceptors.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration spent more than six years investigating the alleged carbon monoxide problems, but closed the investigation in January 2023 by announcing no defects had been found.
The probe included 1.3 million model year 2011-2017 Ford Explorer consumer SUVs and Explorer Police Interceptors, but NHTSA found the SUVs were not producing high carbon monoxide levels in the occupant compartments.
Except in cases where the vehicles had been worked on, altered or damaged, NHTSA said Explorer carbon monoxide levels were "below current accepted health standards."
Police vehicles that had been altered by adding lights, sirens, wiring, etc., could sometimes allow exhaust fumes into the cabins.
Because of the negative publicity, Ford settled lawsuits just to put an end to the class actions, and Ford also agreed to repair police Explorers for free even though Ford hadn't caused the problems.
The lawsuit filed by the Washington officers was dismissed as a class action in 2020, but the plaintiffs were allowed to continue with their own claims.
The cops claimed they suffered all sorts of medical problems from alleged carbon monoxide poisoning, with one officer asserting work was no longer possible because of permanent neurological damage.
Ford Explorer Carbon Monoxide Lawsuit: Plaintiffs to Pay $12,000 to Ford
According to Ford, the plaintiffs had ignored the judge for years by not providing documents and evidence Ford required to defend itself.
The judge notes despite the lawsuit being filed in 2019, "not a single deposition had occurred, and there were outstanding discovery requests that had gone unanswered for over a year."
Ford argued the entire lawsuit was about medical problems allegedly caused by carbon monoxide poisoning from exhaust fumes, but the police officers wouldn't provide complete evidence or records of the alleged injuries.
The judge says the lawyer for the plaintiffs continually failed to appear in court, and "the courtroom deputy has repeatedly had to follow up with Plaintiffs’ counsel by phone or email to secure her appearance at court-ordered status conferences and hearings, which should not be among the many important responsibilities shouldered by court staff."
The judge says the plaintiffs never provided complete "relevant medical, educational, unemployment, and workers’ compensation records."
For more than two years Ford requested the records but was denied by the plaintiffs.
Because Ford had no way of defending itself at trial without evidence of injuries or the medical conditions of the six plaintiffs, Ford proposed sanctions against the plaintiffs were appropriate and Judge Tiffany M. Cartwright agreed.
On July 10, the judge granted the motion for sanctions and ordered the six plaintiffs to pay $2,000 each to Ford within 14 days.
Then on July 15, five days after the six plaintiffs were ordered to pay Ford $12,000, a court document was filed which said the plaintiffs and Ford settled the carbon monoxide lawsuit, without providing additional details.
"The trial and all other pending deadlines/hearings are terminated." — July 15, 2024, docket entry
The six plaintiffs are Randall Cashatt, Brandon Kendall, David Hodel, Chad Prentice, Beth Joswick and Jeffrey Heath.
The Ford Explorer carbon monoxide lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington at Tacoma: Cashatt, et al., v. Ford Motor Company.
The plaintiffs are represented by Josephine C. Townsend.
In a separate lawsuit which made it to trial, a jury cleared Ford after a police officer claimed he passed out while driving due to carbon monoxide poisoning.