Judge Upholds $40 Million Judgement for Family Afflicted by Jeep Fire

By Detroit Steel - November 23, 2016

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The recall woes that have troubled Jeep over the past few years took another blow.

A Georgia appeals court has upheld an earlier judgement ordering Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) to pay $40 million in legal damages to a family whose four-year-old boy was killed in a Jeep fire, according to the Daily Hornet.

Initially, the jury awarded the family of Remington “Remi” Walden, the four-year-old, $150 million due to claims that the location of the gas tank caused the 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee to catch on fire. The judge stepped in and lowered the amount to $40 million. But FCA decided to appeal the decision anyway, citing evidence highlighting similar crashes should have been inadmissible in court.

According to reports, more than 2.7 million Jeeps have the gas tank located behind the rear axle and below the bumper, which could potentially cause the vehicles to catch on fire. Even more concerning, a large percentage of those Jeeps have gone unfixed, despite numerous recall efforts by FCA.