When Ford Motor Co. offered a coupon to settle claims related its Explorer, commentators in the media latched onto the story as another example of unfair coupon settlements. Class members claimed that reports of rollovers had negatively impacted the retail value of their vehicles. The deal, which won final approval in April, resolved claims in four consolidated cases. It provided class members with a $500 coupon toward a new Ford Explorer or a $300 coupon to purchase or lease any Ford, Lincoln or Mercury. Meanwhile, class counsel collected fees of $25 million.
Clarence Ditlow, executive director of the consumers’ group Center for Auto Safety, lambasted the settlement in the Sacramento (Calif.) Bee, commenting, “They should pay the lawyers in coupons.”
An Explorer owner told an ABC affiliate in Sacramento, “They get $25 million, all I get is this lousy coupon, which I’m not going to use.”