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Press Release |
Contact: Linda Wagner |
On Thursday, April 6, 2000, a 10-member
federal court jury in Los Angeles unanimously decided that Consumers Union (CU)
is not liable to Isuzu Motors Ltd. for publishing a series of statements about
the 1995 and 1996 Isuzu Trooper sport-utility vehicle (SUV). Isuzu had sought
$242 million in damages.
This is a victory for consumers and
for the First Amendment. It upholds our right to conduct independent product
testing and to publish critical reviews. Since CU is the prevailing party, Isuzu
will have to pay some of CU's "reasonable" costs incurred during this litigation,
including fees for daily trial transcripts, printing and witness fees, and other
expenses (but not attorney's fees)-costs that, we believe, are likely to exceed
$100,000. Isuzu can decide to appeal the verdict within 30 days after the judgment
is entered by the Court.
The jury concluded that descriptions
of CU's test and the Trooper's performance, as published in Consumer Reports,
were true. The foreman told a reporter that the jury agreed unanimously that
"we couldn't find clear and convincing evidence that Consumers Union intentionally
set out to trash the Trooper," and that Isuzu should not be awarded any damages.
However, the jury also found that
eight of 17 statements made by CU were false, and that one statement ("Careful
driving, however, is ultimately not the answer to this problem. Isuzu…should
never have allowed these vehicles on the road…") although not disparaging,
was made with "reckless disregard for the truth." Comments from jurors to reporters
outside the courtroom suggest that they objected to the tone of this and other
statements made to the press or given as advice to the consumer, the manufacturer,
and the government.
Our legal victory is clear and substantial,
but CU is also listening closely to the message sent through the jury's objections
to several of our statements. We continue to believe that those statements were
valid expressions of our opinion. But, as with any criticism, we will take the
jury's views into serious consideration in our continual efforts to improve
the practices that CU follows in its work on behalf of consumers.
Throughout our 64-year history, we
have responded to the concerns of the public and served the needs of consumers,
and we will continue that tradition.
January 2001
Update and Background from Consumers Union on Isuzu v.
Consumers Union lawsuit, filed in 1997.
Contact: Linda Wagner, Office of Public Information
(914) 378-2433; wagnli@consumer.org
In 1992, Consumers Union, the publisher
of Consumer Reports, tested a 1992 Isuzu Trooper. It performed well in our tests,
and according to a survey of our readers, its reliability was reported to be
good. For the next four years, Consumer Reports recommended the Trooper.
In 1996, when CU tested a 1996 Trooper, a 1995 Trooper, and its "twin"
vehicle, the 1996 Acura SLX, all three SUVs tipped up severely on two wheels
during a CU emergency avoidance maneuver. We reported these test results, and
stated that, in our expert judgment, such performance is Not Acceptable.
Isuzu sued CU for libel and product disparagement in federal court in 1997.
In April 2000, after a lengthy jury trial, CU was found not liable and was awarded
certain costs as the prevailing party in the lawsuit.
As with all our product testing, we have fairly reported the results of our
impartial testing and of annual surveys of our readers about the Trooper. This
model has had a positive record on its frequency of repair. However, its Not
Acceptable performance in our 1996 emergency avoidance tests is historical fact.
We have written extensively since 1988 about the rollover risks associated with
numerous SUV models. Government statisticians have stated publicly that fatality
statistics on these vehicles are not meaningful when trying to compare specific
models, since road accidents are dependent on a complex interaction of vehicle
design, driver behavior, road conditions, weather conditions, other motorists,
etc.
CU has received a number of letters from individual victims, or the family members
of victims, of rollover accidents who were driving or riding in Troopers. We
hope our reporting on the Trooper and other SUVs has helped to educate consumers
about the risk of SUV rollover, and, in some measure, has helped to prevent
accidents, injuries, and deaths.
Readers may be interested to know that fuel leakage problems have surfaced in
the 2000 and 2001 models of the Isuzu Trooper, as tested by the Insurance Institute
for Highway Safety (IIHS). (For detail, see the IIHS news release posted on
their website at http://www.hwysafety.org/news_releases/2000/pr111400.htm)
For the June 2000 report on the Isuzu v. CU verdict in Consumer Reports click here.
