Damages again overturned in Elko brake failure case

RENO -- A federal appeals court for the second time has overturned a multimillion dollar punitive damages award for an Elko couple whose son was killed when the brakes on their Ford pickup truck failed.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in its latest ruling, said a lower court judge in Reno didn't give proper instructions to the jury to ensure they wouldn't consider others hurt by the faulty brakes when awarding punitive damages to Ginny and Jimmie White.

According to court documents, the couple's 3-year-old son, Walter, was playing in the yard in October 1994 and climbed into the cab of their 1993 Ford F-350 pickup. The parking brake was on, but the boy knocked the gearshift into neutral.

The brake didn't hold and the boy fell out when the truck started to roll. He was crushed by the rear dual wheels.

A jury in 1998 awarded the parents $150 million in punitive damages against Ford Motor Co., but that amount was reduced by a judge to $69 million. After that judgment was thrown out on appeal, a second jury voted to award $52 million.

Ford Motor Co. again appealed, and the appeals court ordered a third trial to determine an appropriate amount.

The 9th Circuit Court cited a recent 5-4 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in which a $79 million punitive damage award against tobacco giant Philip Morris was thrown out. The high court in that case said punitive damages should align more closely with actual damages and cannot be used to punish a company for injuries suffered by those not involved in the lawsuit.

"On remand, the district court must explain to the jury that although evidence of harm to non-parties may bear on Ford's reprehensibility, any award of punitive damages can not be used 'to punish (Ford) directly for harms to ... nonparties,'" the appeals court said.