On October 6th, just after midnight, a Donaldsonville, Louisiana Jury retuned a $32 million verdict against Michelin North America. The Plaintiff, Drusilla Boudreaux, was represented by John W. Tavormina of Tavormina & Young, in Houston, and T. Carey Wicker of Capitelli & Wicker in New Orleans.

Ms. Boudreaux was paralyzed from the neck down as a result of the spin out of a car in which she was a passenger. The Jury found that the spinout was caused by the mismounting of the tires; and that Michelin had failed to warn the local dealer on the proper mounting policy.

Michelin had a TWO TIRE MOUNTING POLICY which said:

“Contrary to popular belief, intensive testing has shown that when the tires with the best traction are on the rear axle, you get more control during wet weather driving. That’s why it is Michelin’s policy to automatically rear-wheel mount your new tires when only two are being replaced.”

Michelin never sent this policy to the dealers in Louisiana and the Jury found that Michelin’s failure to warn caused the improper mounting which caused the car to go out of control.