The N.C. Court of Appeals has thrown out a lower-court ruling in a product liability case involving Ford. The trial court had ruled in Ford’s favor and against the representatives of children injured in a 2003 car crash in Mecklenburg County. The dispute centered on who bore responsibility for injuries linked to the seatbelts the children used in the backseat of a Ford Taurus.

While a three-judge panel agreed on the outcome of the case, which will allow the children to pursue their claims against Ford, at least one judge had concerns about the ruling. Judge Jim Wynn wrote in a concurring opinion:

Here the language of the statute is clear and we are duty-bound to follow the law as written. Nonetheless, while I concur with the majority in following the clear language of the statute, I do so mindful that the statutory language appears inconsistent with general principles of negligence, modification defenses in all other states, and possibly even the intent of our legislature itself.

In other opinions handed down today:

  • A unanimous three-judge panel vacated a lower-court ruling in a dispute between the N.C. Department of Transportation and the owner of a 188-acre property near High Rock Lake in Davidson County that’s slated for development.?
  • A unanimous three-judge panel affirmed a lower-court ruling in favor of the City of Raleigh in a dispute involving a woman injured while crossing a downtown street.
  • Appellate panels affirmed two lower-court rulings and reversed two others involved satellite-based monitoring of offenders convicted of sex crimes.