Ford Engine/Spark Plug Suits Driven to Court in Ohio

Three putative class suits concerning allegedly defective three-valve engines and spark plugs in various Ford Motor Co. vehicles will be consolidated and litigated before Judge Benita Y. Pearson of the Northern District of Ohio, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation held Feb. 8. The plaintiffs in the suits assert the spark plugs become increasingly more difficult to remove the longer they remain in a vehicle, because increased hydrocarbon deposits make it more likely the spark plugs will break when removed. This dramatically increases repair costs, they said. Ford opposed centralization. The automaker argued the engines experience different failure rates, ...