Lawsuit against Porsche in The US?
11-07-2005 | 10:19 AM
#1
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From: Stuttgart and Zurich
Lawsuit against Porsche in The US?
It came to my ears that once Porsche would have been sued in the US over the driveability of a 911 or 930. Maybe filed in California.
Is anyone aware of this lawsuit? Date of decision? Which court?
Thanks!
Felix
Is anyone aware of this lawsuit? Date of decision? Which court?
Thanks!
Felix
11-07-2005 | 02:21 PM
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From: Blacksburg, VA
Are you thinking about the suit(s) against GM over the rear-engined Corvair? I can't help with any details, but as I recall the rear-engined Porsche was discussed in that suit (and in numerous other places), as it was similarly tail-happy (but not quite as much as the Corvair) at the time.
11-07-2005 | 03:57 PM
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Yes. From mcclellanlaw.com
Originally Posted by McClellan Law
Speed and Power Defects
The McClellan Law Firm has litigated two cases against Porsche involving the Turbo 930, in which the combination of power, turbo-lag and oversteer made the vehicle too difficult to handle for the average driver, without proper warnings and instruction.
The first case, Garrison v. Porsche, arose out of the death of a husband and father who was a passenger in a Turbo 930, when the driver lost control on a city street and went into oncoming traffic. The jury awarded $2.5 million, which was upheld on appeal. The 1983 award tied the verdict for the death of Audie Murphy, a war hero and actor, for the largest wrongful death verdict in the state of California. Following the Garrison verdict, Porsche started offering driver's training to the purchasers of its high-performance, turbo-charged vehicles.
The second case, Trent v. Porsche, arose out of the death of a husband and father, when the Turbo 930 oversteered and collided with a telephone pole. The case settled for a confidential amount.
The McClellan Law Firm has litigated two cases against Porsche involving the Turbo 930, in which the combination of power, turbo-lag and oversteer made the vehicle too difficult to handle for the average driver, without proper warnings and instruction.
The first case, Garrison v. Porsche, arose out of the death of a husband and father who was a passenger in a Turbo 930, when the driver lost control on a city street and went into oncoming traffic. The jury awarded $2.5 million, which was upheld on appeal. The 1983 award tied the verdict for the death of Audie Murphy, a war hero and actor, for the largest wrongful death verdict in the state of California. Following the Garrison verdict, Porsche started offering driver's training to the purchasers of its high-performance, turbo-charged vehicles.
The second case, Trent v. Porsche, arose out of the death of a husband and father, when the Turbo 930 oversteered and collided with a telephone pole. The case settled for a confidential amount.
11-08-2005 | 05:11 AM
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Thanks to you both! I will dig into this. Appearently there must be a series of lawsuits, as I have found at findlaw.com hints to at least another one in California, which raised some filing issues before the plaintiff realized that not VW but Porsche was the proper defendant!
Any hints to further lawsuits would be highly appreciated.
Felix
Any hints to further lawsuits would be highly appreciated.
Felix
11-08-2005 | 10:54 AM
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From: Hsv AL
Felix,
In the US, all auto manufacurers & dealers get sued - alot. Some deserve it, some do not - some are guilty, some are not (regardless of the outcome of the case). Bringing suit can be lucrative, esp for lawyers. Tell us, what is the basis of your interest?
In the US, all auto manufacurers & dealers get sued - alot. Some deserve it, some do not - some are guilty, some are not (regardless of the outcome of the case). Bringing suit can be lucrative, esp for lawyers. Tell us, what is the basis of your interest?
11-09-2005 | 05:44 AM
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ked, I am quite aware of the facettes of American product liability laws and this question is not aimed at collecting background to flame against those laws. So, don't worry.
No, this - at the present - is a mere matter of curiosity such as "is it true that...". I could not find a published verdict and I guess most of those lawsuits were settled, indeed. Maybe I will find time and get in touch with that lawyer mentioned.
By the way, check out: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porsche_930
@ Jim: while checking out, I found that appearently GM was not sued over any accidents the Corvair might have caused but by Ralph Nader for compensation who took the Corvair as a leading example in "Unsafe at any Speeds" and was obstructed by GM.
Best regards,
Felix
No, this - at the present - is a mere matter of curiosity such as "is it true that...". I could not find a published verdict and I guess most of those lawsuits were settled, indeed. Maybe I will find time and get in touch with that lawyer mentioned.
By the way, check out: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porsche_930
@ Jim: while checking out, I found that appearently GM was not sued over any accidents the Corvair might have caused but by Ralph Nader for compensation who took the Corvair as a leading example in "Unsafe at any Speeds" and was obstructed by GM.
Best regards,
Felix
11-09-2005 | 12:31 PM
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My memory must be fuzzy. I remember Nader's book, Unsafe at Any Speed, but thought GM was also sued multiple times over the Corvair, maybe even after Nader's book. Ken's post reminded me of the 911 Turbo suit, and ked's post reminded me of numerous other unsafe car cases; the exploding Ford Pinto gas tank and the unintended acceleration of the Audi 5000, for examples. As I recall, Ford had decided against recalling Pintos for a cheap gas tank fitting fix even after they knew that Pintos were bursting into flame after being rear-ended. In the Audi case, after numerous studies, incidences of unintended acceleration were found to be due to driver error; stepping on the gas pedal instead of the brake. Nonetheless, it ruined the market value of the Audi 5000, and sent me to used car lots looking for one of those very cheap nearly new Audi 5000's (I found and bought a one-year old 1986 Saab 9000 Turbo while on that hunt instead). When car companies discovered an unsafe condition it appeared that they did a cost analysis to see whether it would be less expensive to recall the affected car for a fix, or handle and settle the related complaints on an individual basis.
Last edited by Jim Michaels; 11-09-2005 at 12:33 PM. Reason: correction
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11-10-2005 | 04:45 AM
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From: Hsv AL
Felix, you got me wrong - I'm not worried in the least about US product liability laws, or lawyers, for that matter. You might find the US DOT's NHTSA website of interest (if you're into that kinda thing).
11-11-2005 | 01:11 AM
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I remember a suit from my hometown against Porsche back in 1973 or 1974 (it's been a while) when a drunk driver rolled his 914 and was paralyzed from the waist down, (paraplegic). The car was still driveable and Porsche of America (long before PCNA) got Mark Donohue in town to drive the car to show it was still driveable and the accident was NOT the car's fault. I was lucky enough to stop by the dealership in Cedar Rapids, Iowa that day and got to spend 1/2 hour chatting with my hero as he waited for the lawyers to show up. I was in hog heaven, and actually "passed" Mark when I left as he was also leaving in the 914... never forget that day. IIMC, the jury of old women felt sorry for the idiot drunk and found in favour of him against Porsche. Figures...
11-11-2005 | 08:02 PM
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Hey in this country the legal system is not what we would want it to be. If you need any clues just think of OJ Simpson.
If many people had their way we would all be driving a foam rubber encrusted Chevy Cavalier.
If many people had their way we would all be driving a foam rubber encrusted Chevy Cavalier.
12-01-2005 | 12:11 AM
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Originally Posted by Darkworx
Is this why the later generation 911 (993/996/possible 997) Turbos got AWD??? To stop people from killing themselves?
