In Escobedo, et. al. v. Ford Motor Co., Farrar & Ball, LLP forced a settlement with Ford Motor Co. in a case involving allegations of defective design of the 2004 F-F150 Heritage for client. In 2004, Ford redesigned the frame of its F-150 pickup truck to include a closed box design. However, despite touting the safety benefits of this new design, Ford continued to market and sell the old “Open C” frame F-150 in the Heritage model. The old design was defective in that it failed to protect occupants in offset frontal collisions.

The Escobedo family was traveling along a toll road when they collided with the rear-end of the an 18-wheeler. The vehicle caught fire. Due to the defective frame failing, Ms. Escobedo and her son, who were on the passenger side, where trapped in the vehicle. Despite efforts by Mr. Escobedo and passers-by, they were unable to free the passengers, who died as a result of the fire. The case was filed in Marshall, Texas.