Seat belt info

[kverges]

What may help explain DC's reticence in response to the clamor over seatbelts is the fact that it is defending a class action lawsuit in Corpus Christi, TX, not known to be a friendly forum for defendants. Without debating the merits, suffice to say that DC cannot simply do the "right thing" and replace seatbelts and that's that. The claim for attorneys' fees will continue and be very high, I am sure. In addition, note that the class action is for "economic damages," which means that the class representative has no personal injury damages, but is suing over the potential of such damages. I presume that there is no one with PI damages to represent the class or there would
be a representantive that had PI damages.

More details are at this link:
http://www5.law.com/lawcom/displayid.cfm?statename=TX&docnum=136769&table=news&flag=full

 

[cstegall]

Keith,

It is very apparent that you have a clear understanding of the legal system concerning Class Action suits..thanks for your explanation. It is truly sad that DC (or any other manufacturer) allows issues such as these to become "feeding troughs" for the attorney's,however, it is a fact of business life that if you produce an item that is destined to become a safety hazard that you do so with the knowledge that lawsuits may/will occur. It is equally sad that these conditions seem to always revolve around the potential for large attorney fees and not around the the "actual" situation. As stated in the seatbelt thread...the "settlement" will occur when,and only when,DC decides that the attorney's fees reach a level(both Plaintiff and Defendant)that makes it economically feasible to discontinue the effort.
For the sake of ALL Viper owners...we need to know that the seatbelt system in our cars are as safe as can be produced...excluding attorney's fees.


No Flame Intended...Just Observation,

CStegall