Attorney says Ford vehicle recall strengthens Iowa house fire death lawsuit

By Jim Greene

Published on September 16, 2005

Rob Ammons is representing Earl Mohlis and his three grown children in a suit blaming the cruise control switch on an F-150 pickup for starting a fire that killed Mohlis' wife Darletta. According to the suit, the fire started in the pickup, engulfed the attached garage, and then spread to the house.

Although the Ford recall is to check for faulty cruise control switches on pickups and sport utility vehicles, the company said its investigators determined the fire began elsewhere in the Mohlis' garage, and spread to the truck on its path to the house. Ford said the remains of the switch were recovered from the fire and ruled out by its experts as the cause.

The Mohlis' suit claims Ford was aware of a problem and delayed dealing with it fully in order to save money. Ford's initial recall, in January, was of 800, 000 vehicles. It was expanded last week to 3.8 million vehicles.

A Ford spokesperson said that of the estimated 100,000 non-collision vehicle fires each year, insurance industry investigators blame fewer than 100 on faulty cruise control switches, making it nearly impossible to isolate the device as the cause of the Mohlis' fire.

Comment on this article →