Attorney Ken Suggs Quoted In The State
by American Association for Justice
on June 19, 2005
South Carolina’s largest newspaper, The State, recently reported a legal settlement with Ford motor company involving faulty door latches in some pick-up models. Previously, and in most states, settlement amounts are sealed from public access. A two-year court order requires such settlements be open in federal courts in South Carolina.
The federal lawsuit involved a Horry County (S.C.) man who claimed that a defective latch resulted in permanent, serious, injury. Ford Motor Company agreed to settle the case for $3.5 million.
“Columbia (S.C.) plaintiffs’ attorney Ken Suggs hailed the open Horry settlement, adding it will help people make decisions about which vehicles are safe.
“Had Ford not been convinced the jury would say there was a defect in the vehicle, they would never have paid that kind of settlement,” said Suggs, rising president of the 60,000-member American Association for Justice, a group that represents plaintiffs in lawsuits.”
