Verdict for Ford on Explorer Thrown Out

A U.S. appeals court threw out a jury verdict that found Ford Motor Co. wasn’t liable for the death of a woman in an Explorer rollover accident and ordered a new trial.

The U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta reversed the jury’s decision last month.

A three-judge panel concluded that the judge who presided over the trial in 2003 gave improper instructions to the jury and shouldn’t have allowed Ford to introduce evidence on other rollover accidents.

Ford has won 14 Explorer rollover cases at trial and lost two, including a $369-million jury verdict in San Diego in June.

This is Ford’s first reversal of a win in an Explorer case.

Ford will appeal the court’s decision.