Court refuses to reconsider $32.2 million judgment against tire maker

By Cy Ryan

Friday, Dec. 31, 2010 | 2:05 a.m.

CARSON CITY — The Nevada Supreme Court has refused to rehear its decision to uphold a $32.2 million judgment in Clark County against Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. in a single-car accident that killed three people and injured seven others.

The court, in a 6-1 decision written by Justice Mark Gibbons, said it did not overlook any material facts or misapply the law. But it took the court 10 pages to clarify what it meant in its first decision last July in upholding the rulings of District Court Judge Sally Loehrer.

Justice Kristina Pickering dissented and said she would have granted a rehearing.

She said the default judgment in the case rested on the District Court “choosing to believe one side’s lawyers over another’s with no evidentiary hearing, no cross-examination and a genuine dispute over willfulness, fault, and prejudice.”

During pre-trial maneuvering, Loehrer ruled Goodyear failed to produce a witness and gave improper responses to interrogatories. She said Goodyear took the tactic of “stalling, obstructing and objecting.” As a sanction, Loehrer ruled Goodyear could not present a defense of liability but only could argue to the jury the amount of compensatory damages.

The 2004 accident occurred near Moab, Utah, on Interstate 70 when a tire on the car blew out and the vehicle overturned. Killed were Evertina Tapia, Andres Torres and Frank Enriquez.

The surviving relatives and guardians of children involved filed suit against Goodyear, Ford Motor Co. and Valley View Hitch & Truck Rental. Ford and Valley View settled their claims.