Dieter Zetsche may be gone, but his crusade against “jackpot justice” lives on.
Zetsche, as president of Chrysler Group, took up the cause against what he said was a $46 billion-a-year cottage industry run by lawyers who file and win unwarranted suits against automakers.
Zetsche last month became chairman of parent DaimlerChrysler, but his successor, Tom LaSorda, has stepped in to the role of railing against lawyers who look at the auto industry as their own private 401(k).
“It’s convenient to settle a suit just to get it out of the way, but not enough companies stand up to the issue and most CEOs don’t talk about tort reform,” LaSorda said in an interview last week before addressing the Economic Club of Chicago to drum up more support.
“My legal team asked me to address the issue, to step up and be more vocal, because we’re tired of being cash cows.”
LaSorda said up to half the suits are filed on behalf of people who failed to stop at a red light or sign, failed to wear their safety belts or were driving under the influence. But in 32 states, that evidence isn’t allowed in court.
It has been estimated that unwarranted suits add $500 to the price of each vehicle industrywide, “but that estimate is 15 years old,” LaSorda said, adding that while he can control the cost of parts and materials, “I have no control over the cost of suits.”
He has no quarrel with paying when Chrysler is at fault, but not when someone else is.
He cited a case in which the plaintiffs were awarded $50 million after a 17-year-old driver fell asleep at the wheel of his pickup and plowed into a Dodge Caravan at more than 70 m.p.h. A 245-pound unbelted passenger in the rear seat of the van was thrown forward and struck the head of the driver, who was killed by the force of the impact.
“Yet the sleeping driver who caused the accident wasn’t even sued.”
He cited another suit as evidence how far some lawyers will go to win a huge settlement.
“A suit charged that the steering column on a mini-van was defective, but evidence proved the lawyers got an old steering column in Mexico, broke it, put it in the van and then took pictures to use in court.”
While the suit was dismissed, “The lawyers are still practicing and haven’t lost their licenses,” he said.
LaSorda is urging Congress to reform this litigation lottery. But he’s not holding his breath.
“Given that lawyers make up almost half of the U.S. House and Senate and have made little progress in legal reform, we have to ask, has the rule of law been replaced by the rule of lawyers?”
Expecting lawyers to reform lawyers may be as difficult as getting a Republican to hug a Democrat. And LaSorda has overlooked another problem hindering reform. The huge sums are awarded by juries, folks influenced by the fact they could someday be stationed at the plaintiff’s table, waiting for the lottery numbers to be called.
More hybrids: Brent Dewar, vice president of sales and marketing for General Motors, says the Saturn Aura and the redesigned Chevrolet Malibu have been earmarked for the hybrid treatment.
The 2007 Aura comes out this fall, Malibu early next year. No firm date on when the hybrid versions will be added.
Say what? Chevrolet general manager Ed Peper said the full-size, V-8 Chevrolet Silverado pickup consumes no more gas than a compact Toyota Prius hybrid.
But add an asterisk to Peper’s boast.
“If you run a full-size Silverado with E85 for one year or 12,000 miles, you’ll burn the same amount of gas as you would in a Prius,” he said.
The gimmick? E85 contains 85 percent ethanol, so for each gallon burned, only 15 percent is gas.
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Read Jim Mateja Sunday in Transportation and Wednesday and Friday in Business. Hear him on WBBM-AM 780 at 6:22 p.m. Wednesdays and 11:22 a.m. Sundays.
jmateja@tribune.com
