Ford Police Interceptor Carbon Monoxide Lawsuit Survives

January 14, 2025 — A Ford Police Interceptor carbon monoxide lawsuit will continue for now as Ford failed to get the Texas lawsuit tossed out.

In short, Judge Jason Pulliam says many arguments on both sides are matters for a jury to consider.

On March 22, 2021, Texas plaintiff Jeremy Bellamy was on duty for the Universal City Police Department in his assigned 2019 Ford Explorer Police Interceptor.

According to the lawsuit, the Ford Explorer Police Interceptor was manufactured and retrofitted for police work by Ford.

Bellamy says he was on duty and parked the SUV on a neighborhood street with the engine idling. A civilian later noticed him unconscious and unresponsive inside the Police Interceptor and called for emergency responders.

The Ford lawsuit says Bellamy was taken to the hospital by ambulance where he was diagnosed with carbon monoxide poisoning based on blood testing and his clinical presentation, and he was diagnosed with pneumonia.

Bellamy filed the carbon monoxide lawsuit by claiming defects in the design and manufacturing of the Ford Explorer Police Interceptor allowed harmful levels of carbon monoxide into the SUV, "causing him permanent injury."

"Bellamy alleges Ford’s mislabeling, improper instructions for use, and failure to warn regarding the known defects constituted negligence and defective marketing." — Ford Police Interceptor carbon monoxide lawsuit

Ford Argues Explorer Police SUV Lawsuit Should End

The judge says it appears Ford filed a “no-evidence” summary judgment motion. However, the carbon monoxide lawsuit is being held in a Texas federal court, and federal courts do not recognize the no-evidence motion for summary judgment.

Judge Pulliam says this type of motion may be filed in Texas state courts, but not in any federal court.

Ford also told the judge that Bellamy, “must show that an unreasonably dangerous defect caused his injuries,” and in vehicle defect cases like this one, Bellamy “must use expert testimony to prove the existence of a defect that allegedly caused his injuries because the matters are ‘beyond jurors’ common understanding.”

But the judge ruled Bellamy did present evidence from an expert witness about the existence of a defect in the Police Interceptor that caused Bellamy’s injuries. However, the judge found the "credibility and weight of this expert-witness testimony are matters for the jury to consider."

Bellamy also presents evidence of Ford’s production of documents showing holes or vents from the factory manufacturing process could possibly allow fumes into the SUV, and those holes could be fixed to prevent intrusion.

According to the judge, "this evidence is sufficient to raise a genuine dispute of material fact whether a safer alternative design exists." However, the judge found the "credibility and weight of this expert-witness testimony are matters for the jury to consider."

Bellamy must show the Ford Police Interceptor was defectively designed so as to render it unreasonably dangerous.

Ford’s contends any leaks of carbon monoxide that entered the cabin of the Police Interceptor were not a design defect or were within Ford’s own tolerances. But again, the judge ruled these are arguments Ford may make to a jury.

As for alternate causes of Bellamy's injuries, the judge says Ford's arguments about alternative causes "may be a theory Ford may pursue at trial."

Ford also argues the lawsuit should end because Bellamy’s liability expert did not review the relevant specifications for the Ford Police Interceptor and because by the expert's own admission, the identified leaks at the exhaust tip and near the resonator did comply with Ford’s specifications.

Therefore, Ford contends Bellamy’s failure to identify if and how the Interceptor deviated from Ford’s specifications entitles it to summary judgment on the product liability cause of action based upon a manufacturing defect.

However, the expert testified in his deposition "to a defect relating to the entire design of the Interceptor which allowed carbon monoxide to intrude into the cabin in excessive amounts."

"This testimony is sufficient to raise a genuine dispute of material fact whether the Interceptor met Ford’s specifications when it was originally manufactured and after Ford retrofitted it for police work." — Judge Jason Pulliam

The Ford Police Interceptor carbon monoxide lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas (San Antonio Division): Jeremy Bellamy v. Ford Motor Company.