The family of an 11-year-old boy killed in a vehicle crash that was caused by an aged tire was awarded $18 million by a California jury.  A Southern California tire chain store, American Tire Depot, put a tire on the Ford Explorer involved in the accident and was found negligent for doing so because the tire old.

In May of 2006, 11-year-old Willie Moreno was killed when his family’s Explorer rolled over on a highway in Riverside, California. The left rear tire had experienced a catastrophic tread separation, and it was later found that the Firestone tire was 12 years old at the time of the accident.

Attorneys for the Moreno family alleged that ATD was responsible for rotating the 12-year-old spare tire onto the Explorer when the vehicle was brought in for replacement tires. They said that the family went to ATD to replace its two rear tires, and that ATD sold them one tire and told them to rotate the spare in.

As reported by ABC News, aged tires can present a hidden danger even if their treads are unworn and they haven’t been driven a mile. According to consumer and industry sources, as tires age the rubber can deteriorate and become brittle, leading to a possible tread separation. Automobile and tire companies have issued bulletins recommending “shelf lives” for tires ranging from six to 10 years.

During the trial, the jury was presented with evidence showing that both Ford and Firestone have issued bulletins on aged tires. In 2005, Bridgestone Firestone sent out a technical bulletin to its dealers that said, “It is recommended that all tires (including spare tires) that were manufactured more than ten (10) years previous be replaced with new tires.” Also in 2005, Ford Motor Co. issued an advisory about aged tires, stating, “Tires degrade over time, even when they are not being used.” Ford recommended replacing tires “after 6 years of normal service.”

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“This tragedy could have been easily prevented,” said Roger Braugh, one of the attorneys representing the Moreno family. “The facts of this case showed very clearly that American Tire Depot did not offer even a minimum of professional attention to tire safety.”

William Delhagen, the defense attorney for American Tire Depot, said he was “disappointed” by the decision, and that ATD had presented evidence showing the company was not responsible for installing the tire in question on the Explorer. According to Delhagen, the jury “allowed sympathy to overwhelm a careful evaluation” of the case.

Currently there are no federal standards setting an “expiration” date for tires. Tire industry trade groups have come out strongly against such a measure, arguing that factors such as excessive use, and poor maintenance and storage are more important in determining whether or not a tire will fail.

A bill was passed last year by the California assembly that requires tire dealers to disclose the age of a tire in writing to consumers prior to sale or installation of the tire and it was supported by the regional family.  However, that bill was withdrawn before to be voted on by the state Senate by its sponsors because of strong industry opposition.

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My Take: There must have been evidence that proved that one of the tires put on the rear of that SUV was done so by ATD.  Otherwise, they wouldn’t be paying $18 million.  One thing is for sure, they must have had a good TX wrongful death lawyer and he is going to get pretty good fee for such a good job.  At least they didn’t need a Houston construction accident lawyer.

I feel for the family and their loss.  It is always a tragedy when a child dies.  Many parents cannot take the strain and end up divorcing.  That means they look for NJ divorce attorney.  Some parents may even look for a Fort Lee NJ divorce mediator who might be able to resolve the situation.

I do not know how LA court reporters can sit in the courtroom and listen to the evidence presented in cases like this.  If I were a Los Angeles court reporter I would have to learn how to control my emotions.  Otherwise, I would be sitting there crying during the whole trial.

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An accused bomber scoured the web and visited beauty supply stores on a hunt for chemicals needed to build bombs for the Al-Qaida.  That accused bomber is Afghan-born Najibullah Zazi.  Authorities are calling the alleged plot one of the most significant terror threats in to the US since 9/11.  However, the 12 page memorandum that outlined the alleged conspiracy sent chills down backs of those reading it because the route a repeated phrase “and others” that gave evidence of a possible Al-Qaida cell plotting a homemade bomb attack on US soil once again

Zazi, a 24-year-old coffee cart owner in New York and Denver airport shuttle driver, was charged in New York with conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction. He was to appear in court in Denver on Friday.

Since he was arrested a week ago on a lesser count of lying to terrorist investigators, investigators have fanned out over New York City, going to beauty shops, home improvement stores and neighborhoods Zazi frequented looking for possible accomplices, while the government issued national terrorism warnings for sports complexes, hotels and transit systems.

Prosecutors said they have yet to establish exactly when and where the Zazi attacks were supposed to take place. But Attorney General Eric Holder said in Washington, “We believe any imminent threat arising from this case has been disrupted.”

A law enforcement official told The Associated Press on Thursday that Zazi had associates in New York who were in on the plot. Court papers say that during the summer, Zazi and three unidentified associates bought “unusually large quantities” of hydrogen peroxide and acetone – a flammable solvent found in nail-polish remover – from beauty supply stores in the Denver area, products with names like Ion Sensitive Scalp Developer and Clairoxide.

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He searched a Queens home improvement store Web site for another ingredient needed to make a compound called TATP (Triacetone Triperoxide), the explosives used in the London bombings that killed over 50 people, prosecutors said.

Zazi has publicly denied being a terrorist since his arrest. He left the Denver court without commenting.  The government motion seeking to deny bail laid out a chronology of the alleged scheme, which prosecutors said had been in the works for over a year.

Zazi – a legal U.S. resident who immigrated in 1999 – began plotting as early as August 2008 to “use one or more weapons of mass destruction,” when he “and others” traveled from Newark, N.J., to receive explosives training in Pakistan, prosecutors said.

Within days of returning from Pakistan in early 2009, he moved to the Denver suburb of Aurora, where he used a computer to research homemade bomb ingredients and to look up beauty supply stores where he could buy them, according to prosecutors.

A second law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing investigation said associates of Zazi visited Colorado from New York to help him buy the chemicals, using stolen credit cards to make the purchases before returning to New York.

Security video and receipts show that some of the purchases were made near a Colorado hotel, according to court papers. On Sept. 6 and 7, Zazi checked into a suite at the hotel with a kitchen and a stove, the papers say, and tried to contact an unidentified associate “seeking to correct mixtures of ingredients to make explosives.”

“Zazi repeatedly emphasized in the communications that he needed the answers right away,” the papers said. “Each communication” was “more urgent than the last.”  FBI explosives testing later found residue in the vent above the stove, authorities said.

On Sept. 8, court papers say, Zazi searched the Internet for home improvement stores in Queens before driving a rental car for a two-day trip to the city. The visit triggered a series of searches in Denver and New York City over the past two weeks, and netted backpacks, cell phones and a scale at a home where Zazi spent the night.

A law enforcement official said Thursday that authorities had been especially worried about Zazi’s Sept. 10 visit to the city because it coincided with a visit by President Barack Obama, and considered arresting him right away. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation continues.

Beauty supply store employees in New York and the Denver suburbs said authorities had been there recently asking whether anyone had come in buying a lot of hydrogen peroxide or acetone.  At Beauty Supply Warehouse in suburban Denver, Paul Phillips said a co-worker told investigators he had sold chemicals to Zazi. Company president Karan Hoss said the firm turned over security video of a man matching Zazi’s description to the FBI. A check of sales found that someone bought a dozen 32-ounce bottles of a hydrogen peroxide product in July. More was purchased in late August, Hoss said.

A Perry in court because they lied to investigators were Zazi’s father, Mohammed Wali Zazi, and a New York City imam, Ahmad Wais Afzali.  Receiving a hearing for October 9 in Denver Mohammed Zazi, 53, was ordered freed under court.  Afzali was released in New York on $1.5 million bail.  He was accused of tipping off the Zazis that the feds were investigating them in a tapped telephone call,.  Afzali’s attorney, Ron Kuby, denied his client knew anything about a plot.

“Obviously, the government would not be consenting to bail if it thought he was involved in a terrorism conspiracy,” he said.

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My Take: The thing I do not understand is why did we make him a citizen in the first place?  That seems a little unusual to me.  I am sorry, but I do not think we should be making anybody else citizens of this country if they are from Iraq, Iran or Afghanistan because of people like this.

“Send us your tired, your poor, your huddle masses,” does it mean we need to take in every person who’s dissatisfied from another country.  It is time that big brother put his foot down on the throat of all immigrants.  I apologize is just that this type of thing really makes me angry.  I do not like the rules of Homeland security has, yet they are necessary and sometimes I agree with them.  I know, I am contradicting myself.

Our country has been one that has accepted everybody into it.  Maybe it’s time that would put a stop to it for a while.  Not because of the threat of terrorism, but because we are beginning to get just a little bit overcrowded.  We can barely feed the people or own country let alone those of another.

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