— Michelin has been hit with a $220 million jury verdict in a lawsuit filed after a Michelin LTX M/S2 tire blowout.
According to the New Mexico lawsuit, Mr. Eleazar Marin purchased four Michelin LTX M/S2 tires for his Ford Excursion, although the lawsuit does not say when the purchase was made.
However, the lawsuit says the Michelin tire was manufactured in Alabama around June 2014, but makes no mention of how many miles the tire had been driven when the blowout occurred.
Seven years later, in July 2021, Mr. Marin’s wife (Rosalva Marin), daughter (Laura Marin Zamarippa), and granddaughter (Alexis Zamarippa) were traveling in the Ford Excursion on County Road 211 in Gaines County, Texas.
Laura Marin Zamarippa was driving the Ford when the Michelin tire on the driver’s side blew, sending the Excursion into oncoming traffic. The Ford collided head-on with a Chevrolet 2500 that was towing a trailer.
All three family members died in the crash, reportedly because the seven-year-old Michelin LTX M/S2 tire failed.
According to the blowout lawsuit, the tread separation was caused by multiple defects.
The Michelin LTX M/S2 tire is manufactured in such a way that the adhesion in the lean material between the steel belts was not good and caused the tire to crack.
The Michelin tire was defectively designed as it did not have an adequate belt edge package, including but not limited to adequate gum strips/wedges and/or cap plies.
The Michelin LTX M/S2 tire is made with an inferior belt system.
The tire lacked an adequate package of antioxidants and/or anti-ozonants.
The tire did not have the correct ratio between tire width and tread.
The Michelin LTX M/S2 tire was under-cured in a manner that did not allow for proper component adhesion, resulting in linear pattern marks.
The Michelin tire was improperly manufactured, resulting in belt abnormalities including slipped belts, improper connections, irregular thread spacing, dog-eared connections, and/or split connections.
Michelin also allegedly failed to warn victims of the risk of driving a vehicle with the tire.
The jury placed 100% of the blame on Michelin for the deaths of Rosalva Marin, Laura Marin Zamarippa and Alexis Zamarippa. According to the $220 million judgment, the Michelin LTX M/S2 tire was defective when it left the Michelin factory.
Michelin will likely appeal the verdict and award.
The Michelin tire failure lawsuit was filed in the Fourth Judicial District Court for the County of San Miguel, New Mexico: Marc Grano, et al., v. Michelin North America, Inc., et al.
The plaintiffs are represented by Fadduol, Cluff, Hardy & Conaway, PC
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