Court Rejects Ford’s Bid to Remove Judge in Recall Case

A California court declined a request Tuesday by Ford Motor Co. to disqualify a judge who this year stunned the automotive industry by ordering the recall of up to 2 million Ford cars and trucks, lawyers said.

Sacramento County Superior Court Judge James Ford said there was no evidence of bias on the part of Alameda County judge Michael Ballachey, plaintiffs attorney Paul Nelson said.

“He denied the motion to disqualify [Ballachey],” Nelson said. Ford officials did not immediately return calls seeking comment.

Ford had sought to have Ballachey removed from the multibillion-dollar case after the judge accused the automotive giant of producing “a blizzard of unpersuasive evidence” in its defense against charges that it misled consumers about a design defect that makes vehicles likely to stall.

Ballachey, in a landmark ruling issued against the No. 2 auto maker on Oct. 10, directed Ford to recall and fix more than 1.7 million California vehicles equipped with the faulty thick film ignition module.

That decision, the first recall order ever made by a judge, came as Ford battled a wave of bad publicity and lawsuits over the recall of 6.5 million Firestone tires on its trucks and sports utility vehicles.

Nelson, one of the lawyers representing the plaintiffs in the California class-action suit, said Judge Ford’s decision meant that Ballachey would remain on the case as the two sides determine how and when to implement the recall order.

Ballachey will also preside over the next phase of the case in state court, which will determine possible punitive damages, Nelson said.

Lawyers say the California recall includes virtually every Ford model from 1984 to 1987 as well as selected vehicles manufactured through 1995 and a few in 1983.

Although the order applies only to California cars and trucks, there are more than 22 million of the vehicles nationwide. Ford faces similar class-action lawsuits in Alabama, Maryland, Illinois, Tennessee and Washington, which are on hold until the California case is concluded.

The California case involves allegations that Ford placed TFI modules too close to the engine in at least 1.7 million cars and trucks from 1983 to 1995, causing them to stall. There are about 3.5 million current and former California Ford owners represented in the class.