Tenn. Appellate Court Reverses $3 Million Judgment for Ford Motor, Cites ‘Inconsistent’ Jury Verdict

JACKSON, Tenn. –– A Tennessee appellate court has reversed a $3 million judgment entered against Ford Motor Co. in an asbestos case, finding that the jury’s verdict was inconsistent in that jurors could not have found that Ford was negligent in failing to warn in light of its finding that the defendant’s product was not defective or unreasonably dangerous.

In its May 12 opinion, the Tennessee Court of Appeals further found that the jury instruction had omitted “two necessary questions in products liability cases.”

According to the plaintiffs, Ronnie Stockton began working as an automobile mechanic in 1971; he later …