Around 2 million owners and former owners of Ford Fiesta and Focus vehicles with faulty clutch mechanisms will stand to receive a hefty paycheck as soon as the class-action charges they filed against the motor company is finalized.
According to court records filed late Friday, Ford has agreed to settle the lawsuit with its customers that could be worth more than $100 million. A legal counsel who helped broker the deal on behalf of the clients disclosed that the Ford settlement figure could exceed that amount.
According to Tarek Zohdy of Capstone Law Office in Los Angeles, the Ford settlement has no limit. The company is going to have to settle the claims "until they are exhausted." Ford, the lawyer said, will have to deal with these vehicles until the customers are finished filing their claims.
Zohdy further noted that the settlement entirely depends on the clients' decision to file a claim, and it is up to the vehicle owners whether they want to let the company "keep their money."
Legal counsels of Ford Motor have worked with class-action suit lawyers to resolve the case, which was filed starting in 2012.
Ford believes that the class-lawsuit deal is fair and reasonable, and that executives expect it will be approved by the jury following the court proceedings in February.
The proposed deal in the Central District of California enhances an earlier version that an appeals court refused to accept last September.
The updates include a guaranteed commitment from the car maker of around $30 million reimbursement to vehicle owners who have a record of failed transmission repairs within five years of acquiring the vehicle.
Part of the improved version of the proposed settlement includes easier processing for former car owners and those who leased the vehicles to get payment, and a simplified buyback program for faulty vehicles.
Meanwhile, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it did not find proof that Ford's transmissions poses a safety risk. A recent probe conducted by the Detroit Free Press revealed classified Ford papers and emails that showed the automaker had prior knowledge of the defective transmission lines but continued to make and sell them.
The charges alleged that the company had lied to sell cars with defective transmissions to unsuspecting customers and then blamed the owners for the malfunctions they experienced.
On Friday, Ford Motor revealed, for the first time, the tremendous amount of money it has already shelled out to re-repurchase faulty Fiesta and Focus units through its voluntary arbitration program initiated during the legal process.
