IPSWICH — The parents of an Ipswich teen killed in 2009 when the SUV he was riding in rolled over on Route 1 have filed a wrongful death suit against the vehicle's manufacturer.
Jason Alan Foster was one of two people riding in the back seat of a 2000 Mitsubishi Montero on the morning of Aug. 6, 2009, returning from buying tickets to an upcoming concert, when the driver, an inexperienced teenager unfamiliar with the road, lost control and rolled over on a curve just north of Route 60 in Revere.
Foster, who was 17, and a 16-year-old girl were both thrown from the vehicle and killed.
In the lawsuit, filed earlier this month in Salem Superior Court, Foster's parents, Charles and Michelle Foster, and their attorney, Joseph Balliro Jr., say the "unreasonably dangerous" design of the Montero is to blame and that Mitsubishi Motors North America is liable.
Balliro said the vehicle in question is "notorious" for rollover crashes, the result, he argues, of a major design flaw.
It's one of a number of lawsuits filed around the country against Mitsubishi alleging that the SUV is top-heavy, making it more likely to roll, and that the manufacturer should have incorporated electronic stability control on all of its models. There also have been allegations that the seat belts had a tendency to come undone under stress and that the roof and pillars were more likely to collapse on the Mitsubishi than on other vehicles.
Juries have awarded judgments of up to $11 million in other lawsuits.
For the Fosters, it's not about the money — it's about making a point, Balliro said.
"Chuck and Michelle are very decent, solid people," he said. "Their interest isn't so much in the money; their interest is in culpability. They understand that this is a multinational company and that perhaps the only way to send a message is to hit them where it counts."
The lawsuit filed in the Foster case alleges that there were a number of design defects, including the vehicle's tendency to oversteer, poor maneuverability, a high center of gravity, and a design that fails to protect occupants when the vehicle does roll over.
Mitsubishi "failed to properly warn ... users of the defects, flaws or faulty design of the vehicle in question," Balliro said in the complaint.
Mitsubishi, he said, had been made aware of the problems by independent testing agencies and had faced multiple lawsuits, yet did nothing to correct the issues.
The company decided it would be cheaper to pay for potential injuries and loss of life than to take the cars off the road, Balliro said.
The Fosters are seeking damages for negligence, emotional distress, wrongful death, product liability and violation of the state's consumer protection laws.
In court papers, the Fosters and Balliro asked to settle the case for $7 million.
Mitsubishi refused, denying the allegations and calling them "ill-founded" and demanding that the Fosters produce crash reports, an engineering analysis and legal precedents.
"Nonetheless, MMNA does not wish to have a dissatisfied customer," lawyer Lee Stephen MacPhee wrote in a letter to the Fosters' lawyer earlier this month. (In fact, the vehicle did not belong to the Fosters or their son). "By means of this letter, we are attempting to gather sufficient information from you with which to make a good faith effort to evaluate your claim so that we may consider whether to compromise what we view as a doubtful and disputed claim."
Balliro instead opted to go to court.
A trial date has not been set.
Courts reporter Julie Manganis may be reached at 978-338-2521 or jmanganis@salemnews.com.
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