However, the Hills vehemently opposed this intervention. They contended that the state law only granted the state rights as a judgment creditor, which would only come into effect once the judgment had been paid. Importantly, it did not provide for the state to step in as a plaintiff.
Adding to the perplexity, the Hills’ response brief argued that the state’s intervention was belated, coming more than a year after the original verdict. During that time, Georgia had taken no concrete actions to protect the verdict.
Speculation arose that the state’s main concern was the potential settlement between the siblings and Ford before the appeal concluded, which would leave the state with no entitlement to the awarded funds.
Ford and Georgia Stay Silent
Despite this seismic development, both Ford and the state of Georgia remained tight-lipped and unavailable for immediate comment on the situation.
$1.7B Ford Motor Case : A Tragic Legacy
The roots of this colossal legal battle trace back to a tragic incident in April 2014 when Kim and Adam Hill lost their parents, Melvin and Voncile Hill, in a rollover accident involving a 2002 Ford F-250 Super Duty. The Hills initially sued Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. and Pep Boys in December 2014, reaching settlements with these companies before trial in 2018. Subsequently, they pursued a lawsuit against Ford, accusing the automaker of knowingly selling trucks with weak, defectively designed roofs and failing to warn consumers about the associated risks.
