Judge Approves Ford Settlement With Explorer Owners

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- A California judge has tentatively signed off on a deal that would end class-action lawsuits brought against Ford by about 800,000 Explorer owners.<br/><br/>The suits claimed

Tuesday, December 4th 2007, 7:46 am

By: News On 6

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- A California judge has tentatively signed off on a deal that would end class-action lawsuits brought against Ford by about 800,000 Explorer owners.

The suits claimed the sport utility vehicles lost value because of a perceived rollover danger.

The deal would end lawsuits against Ford in four states. Personal injury and wrongful death claims involving the Explorer will continue.

The settlement allows people who bought the Explorer from model years 1991 through 2001 to receive $500 vouchers to buy new Explorers or $300 vouchers to buy other Ford or Lincoln Mercury products.

Ford will also shell out as much as $25 million in costs and attorneys' fees.

The plaintiffs claim Ford marketed the vehicles as safe even though it knew they had a tendency to flip. Ford isn't admitting any wrongdoing.