The Louisiana Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal by Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., leaving in place a $7.2 million wrongful death verdict for the family of a Plaquemines Parish man who was killed when a defective Goodyear G182 tire suddenly exploded. Interest accrued during Goodyear’s appeal brings the award to nearly $8.9 million.
It is the latest defeat for Goodyear in the case of Breaux v Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. stemming from a February 2014 incident in which Elwood Breaux Jr. suffered mortal injuries when a G182 tire experienced a “zipper failure” and ruptured as he was inflating it.
A three-judge panel from Louisiana’s Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal previously found that the trial judge had ruled properly that Goodyear had not carried out its duty to warn about its tires’ dangers and how to avoid injury.
Kaster, Lynch, Farrar & Ball trial lawyers Bruce Kaster, Skip Lynch, Wes Ball and Kyle Farrar handled the Sept. 2019 trial and appeals, along with the Louisiana-based firm of Meeks & Associates.
The case is one of several recent favorable outcomes secured by the Kaster, Lynch, Farrar & Ball trial team, including:
- A $3.08 million tire defect verdict against Kumho Tire in September 2021.
- A defamation judgment in September 2021 against Alex Jones and InfoWars on behalf of parents of children killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.
- A unanimous U.S. Supreme Court ruling in March 2021 in a closely watched and precedent-setting product defect lawsuit against Ford on behalf of a young man who was injured by defective airbags in a Ford Crown Victoria.
- A $1.2 million jury verdict upheld on appeal in May 2020 on behalf of an Arkansas truck driver seriously injured in a crash caused by a defective Hankook tire.
- An $11.7 million product defect verdict and four related confidential settlements in 2018 for a New Jersey woman whose arm was severed after her car struck a large truck tire retread on the road.
- Numerous tire defect settlements with significant confidential awards against some of the world’s largest tire and automotive companies, including Cooper Tire & Rubber Company, Bridgestone Tire and Michelin.
Based in Ocala, Florida, and Houston, the trial lawyers at Kaster, Lynch, Farrar & Ball LLP have hard-earned expertise in cases against global vehicle and tire manufacturers over product defects that can cause significant injury or death. The firm is a nationwide leader in securing verdicts and settlements against the world’s largest tire and vehicle manufacturers.
