Class Action Settlement regarding 6.0 Ambulances!

[DamageINC]

Check FMCdealer for the details. Not like nobody saw this one coming, lol..

 

Here's the gist of it:

 

1. THE LITIGATION: On November 2, 2006, plaintiffs Williams A. Ambulance, Inc., Stat Services of

Jefferson County A, L.L.C., and Stat Services of Jasper County A, L.L.C., filed this suit against

Ford Motor Company (“Ford”), which alleges that Ford committed negligence, breached the

implied warranty of merchantability, breached the implied warranty of fitness for particular

purpose, and breached the express warranty by selling model year 2003-2007 Ford F-Series or

E-Series ambulance chassis equipped with a 6.0-liter diesel engines, with certain defects.

Additional plaintiffs were later added to the case. The plaintiffs brought their suit on their own

behalf and on behalf of all owners and lessees of model year 2003-2007 Ford F-Series or E-Series

ambulance chassis equipped with a 6.0-liter diesel engine in the United States. (This lawsuit is

called the “Litigation”).

2. FORD’S POSITION: Ford denies all allegations of wrongdoing asserted in the Litigation, including

that the ambulances or their component parts are defective, and that Ford is liable to any buyer,

lessee, or operator of the ambulances under any cause of action. Nonetheless, the companies have

agreed to settle the Litigation by providing the benefits described in this Notice.

3. NOTICE: This Notice informs Settlement Class Members of the Litigation and the proposed

Settlement, and describes the Settlement Class Members’ rights and options.

4. SETTLEMENT CLASS: The following Settlement Class has been conditionally certified. If you are

a member of the class described here, the proposed Settlement will affect your legal rights. Please

read this Notice carefully.

All entities and natural persons in the United States (including the District of Columbia) who

currently own or lease (or who in the past owned or leased) ambulances with ambulance prep

package 47A containing a model year 2003-2007 Ford F-Series or E-Series chassis equipped

with a 6.0-liter diesel engine (the “Class Vehicles”).

The Settlement Class does not include: (a) all federal court judges who have presided over this

case and their spouses and anyone within three degrees of consanguinity from those judges and

their spouses, ( all persons who elect to exclude themselves from the Settlement Class, © all

persons who have previously executed and delivered to Ford releases of all of their claims, and

(d) Ford’s employees, officers, directors, agents, and representatives and their family members.

The Court has appointed Michael A. Caddell, Cynthia B. Chapman, and Cory S. Fein of Caddell &

Chapman, and Mitchell A. Toups of Weller, Green, Toups & Terrell, L.L.P. as Class Counsel to

represent the Settlement Class.

5. SETTLEMENT BENEFITS: If the Court approves the proposed Settlement at the Fairness Hearing

scheduled for July 2, 2009, Ford will provide the following benefits to Settlement Class Members.

a. Engine Warranty Extension. Ford will extend the warranty coverage periods of the limited

written repair-or-replace warranties that originally covered the engine in the Class Vehicles to

72 months/120,000 miles (whichever comes first).

b. Covered Components Warranty Extension. Ford will further extend the warranty coverage

period for any of four “Covered Components” -- fuel injectors, exhaust gas recirculation valve,

air conditioning compressor, and turbo charger -- that received two or more repairs or

replacements under the original 60 month/100,000 mile warranty. Such Covered Components will

receive extended warranty coverage for up to 72 months/150,000 miles (whichever comes first).

- 3 -

c. Future Engine Replacements and Reimbursement of Past Engine Replacements. If,

within the first 72 months after the Class Vehicle is placed in service, an “Engine

Replacement” service is performed due to a malfunction caused by a defect in materials or

workmanship, Ford will pay 50% of the reasonable Out-of-Pocket expenses of such Engine

Replacement when the Class Vehicle has between 120,000 and 135,000 miles in service, and

25% of such expenses when the Class Vehicle has between 135,000 and 150,000 miles in service.

d. Reimbursement of Prior Repairs. Ford will establish a claims procedure whereby Class

Members can make a claim for reimbursement of expenses incurred in the past for repairs that

fall within the time and mileage periods listed above.

e. Reimbursement of Towing Charges. If a Class Vehicle incurred towing costs more than

twice during the original 60 month/100,000 mile engine warranty period due to engine

malfunction, Ford will reimburse the reasonable towing costs incurred beginning with the third

tow that occurred during that warranty period.

f. Reimbursement of Deductibles. As to each Class Vehicle for which a Settlement Class

Member paid a deductible of $100 pursuant to the terms of the 60 month/100,000 mile engine

warranty more than twice due to engine malfunction, Ford will reimburse the cost of the third

and all subsequent $100 deductible charges that the Settlement Class Member paid.

g. Enhanced Maintenance Package. At a Settlement Class Member’s request, Ford will provide

any or all of the following benefits designed to enhance the maintenance of Class Vehicles:

(1) an instructional DVD entitled “Ford 6.0L Power Stroke Diesel Maintenance Special

Operating Circumstances,” which explains the necessary maintenance procedures for

ambulances containing 6.0-liter diesel engines; (2) Ford will reimburse the reasonable cost of

installing an hour meter in each Class Vehicle that does not currently have one, up to $35 for

the meter and up to $85 for labor; (3) to improve the performance of the air conditioning on

2004-2005 E-Series Class Vehicles, Settlement Class Member may obtain from an authorized

Ford dealer free verification of the calibration of the powertrain control module (PCM) and, if

necessary, an update of that calibration to a later calibration; and (4) Settlement Class Members

who have concerns about the assistance they are receiving concerning their Class Vehicles

from authorized Ford dealers may obtain assistance from a special ambulance contact within

Ford’s technical assistance facility.

* * * * * *

You will receive these benefits only if the Court approves the proposed Settlement following the

Fairness Hearing on July 2, 2009, and only if you remain a member of the Settlement Class. If you

exclude yourself from the Settlement, you will receive no benefits.

If the Settlement is approved, the Engine Warranty Extension will go into effect automatically and

you may obtain future repairs under the extended warranty as you normally do. If you are eligible

for future subsidized Engine Replacement services under the Settlement, you may request them at

your Ford dealer. If you seek any other benefits under the Settlement, including refunds of

amounts previously spent obtaining repairs that are covered by the Settlement, or amounts spent on

reimbursable towing charges or deductibles, you must submit a claim for such benefits to the Ford

Claim Center, which will be established promptly after the Settlement is approved. To monitor the

status of the proposed Settlement, learn if and when it is approved, and thereafter obtain claim

forms with which to submit claims, you may call Class Counsel at 1-888-908-8595 or visit Class

Counsel’s website: www.caddellchapman.com/AmbulanceEngines.

- 4 -

6. ATTORNEYS’ FEES, EXPENSES AND INCENTIVE AWARD: Counsel for the Settlement Class have

pursued the Litigation on a contingent basis and have paid all the costs of the Litigation. These

lawyers have not yet been paid or recovered any of their expenses. As part of the Settlement, the

Named Plaintiffs’ attorneys will seek $3.6 million in attorneys’ fees and expenses. The Court will

determine a reasonable fee and expense award at the Fairness Hearing based on Class Counsel’s

Fee and Expense Application and responses thereto. Ford will not oppose Class Counsel’s Fee and

Expense Application. Class Counsel will also ask the Court to approve a total $35,000 incentive

award to be allocated by the Court among the Named Plaintiffs. None of these payments will

reduce the benefits you receive. Any money the Court awards to Class Counsel and Named

Plaintiffs will be paid by Ford.

7. RESULT IF COURT APPROVES SETTLEMENT: If the Court approves the proposed Settlement, it

will dismiss the Litigation, and Ford will provide the benefits described above to the Settlement

Class Members who have not excluded themselves from the Class. No Settlement Class Members

will be able to file their own lawsuits for recovery on any claims in any way relating to the alleged

defects in the Covered Components in the Class Vehicles. If you want to bring your own lawsuit,

you must exclude yourself from this Settlement.

 

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 

Just to frost the cake, now it looks like Fords techs will be doing warranty work on ambulances for 150,000 miles or 6 years.

[Tony302600]

Ive been seeing more and more duramax ambulances. But then again ive been seeing a good amount of 08 e-series ambulances.