Court Derails Tire Suit (Tried to blame Ford/Firestone for death by shooting)

WOWT-TV/DT Omaha ^ | 8.9.03

[mhking]

The Nebraska Supreme Court has ruled that the Ford Motor Co. and Bridgestone/Firestone Inc. cannot be held liable in the death of a 19-year-old woman who was murdered while trying to change a flat tire.

The court ruled in a case stemming from the 2000 murder of Amy Stahlecker, a Wayne State College freshman who became stranded on U.S. Highway 275 west of Omaha because of a blown tire.

Prosecutors said Richard Cook, 36, of Omaha, picked up Stahlecker and later shot her. Her body was found under the Elkhorn River bridge at Waterloo, about 15 miles west of Omaha. Cook was convicted of first-degree murder, and is serving a life sentence.

The woman's parents, Susan and Dale Stahlecker of Fremont, claimed in the lawsuit that a Firestone Wilderness AT tire failed on the 1997 Ford Explorer driven by their daughter, setting off the events that ended in her murder.

The lawsuit claimed that Firestone was negligent in making the defective tire and that Ford was negligent in putting it on one of its vehicles.

The high court said while there was evidence that the companies were negligent in making the tire and putting it on the vehicle, they could not have foreseen Cook's criminal acts.

[mhking]

More proof that we need "loser pays."

Just damn.

If you want on the new list, FReepmail me. This IS a high-volume PING list...

[meyer]

I saw this one in the paper today. It is quite a stretch to try to blame Ford and Firestone for a shooting. Only one idiot pulled the trigger and that is the one to blame!

[Larry Lucido]

Of course. Everyone knows the rogue gun is the only inanimate object at fault here!

[Bob]

saw this one in the paper today. It is quite a stretch to try to blame Ford and Firestone for a shooting. Only one idiot pulled the trigger and that is the one to blame!

Yeah, but he doesn't have the kind of money that Ford and Firestone do.

[Vesuvian]

The key here is forseeability. Suppose I knowingly made a defective tire, could I expect accidents to happen? Yep. Medical malpractice during treatment for those accidents? Maybe. A murder because someone got a flat and hitched a ride? That's way to much of a stretch, and any lawyer should know that. It's a shame there were no sanctions in this case for bringing a frivolous lawsuit.

[WorkingClassFilth]

"The woman's parents, Susan and Dale Stahlecker of Fremont, claimed in the lawsuit that a Firestone Wilderness AT tire failed on the 1997 Ford Explorer driven by
their daughter, setting off the events that ended in her murder."

It is a true pity about the death of their daughter.

The killer should be executed.

I would also recommend that parents, Dale & Sue, be executed as well for being such greedy and stupid pigs. Nothing can bring back their daughter but that is no excuse for the crassness these sleaze demonstrate.

I would suspect membership in the Democratic Party was a factor.

[Timesink]

More proof that we need "loser pays."

These losers paid. This is just reverse karma: two bad people got what they deserved before committing their crime.

Of course, they'll continue to suffer for the rest of their lives as well, as well they deserve to after filing this lawsuit. Attempting to extort money from others to satiate their anger at the world makes them criminals too, just like the guy that killed their daughter.

[Timesink]

Actually, I take that back. The sheer crassness of the parents' actions make me think they don't even care so much about their daughter as much as they cared about a shot at "ca$hin' in, cha-ching!"

[Shmokey]

"I would also recommend that parents, Dale & Sue, be executed as well for being such greedy and stupid pigs. Nothing can bring back their daughter but that is no excuse for the crassness these sleaze demonstrate."

I must agree. The parents need zotting.

[Trajan88]

The lawyer for the family should be disbarred.

Trajan88

[Rightly Biased]

I'm surprised that the reporter didn't tell us it was an
"evil SUV that had the flat tire so a random gun could go by and shoot her with the random guns' murderous bullets".

[King Prout]

oh, dear lord, will it never end?

[Xenalyte]

Of course, they'll continue to suffer for the rest of their lives as well, as well they deserve to after filing this lawsuit. Attempting to extort money from others to satiate their anger at the world makes them criminals too, just like the guy that killed their daughter.

Preach it, Brother T!