FCA Faces Widow’s Trial Over Allegedly Dangerous Shifter Design

FCA US LLC faces trial on a widow’s lawsuit alleging a badly designed shifter in her husband’s Jeep caused his rollover accident, after a federal judge denied the automaker’s motion to bar her experts.

Sophie Mannarino’s human factors expert supported his opinion linking the death to the “monostable gearshift” in the 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee her husband had leased, a Michigan federal court said.

The electronic gearshift returns to a central position after a driver switches gears. Drivers have alleged can’t clearly tell which gear their vehicle is in, resulting in hundreds of accidents and vehicle rollaways, one of which ...