Ford Motor Settles Lawsuit Over 2001 Death of Mets Prospect Brian Cole

“They’re part of the new Ford “Feel”

Ford Motor Co. on Thursday settled a Mississippi lawsuit over a 2001 accident in which a New York Mets prospect was killed when his SUV crashed in the Florida Panhandle, a lawyer for the player’s family said.

The settlement came shortly after the jury in Jasper County had awarded $131 million in actual damages to Cole’s family and before it was to consider possible punitive damages, Tab Turner, an attorney for the family of Brian Cole, told The Associated Press.

Turner, from Little Rock, Ark., said the settlement amount and terms were confidential.

“The family is glad this is finally over. I thought the verdict was an appropriate response to the evidence. They put zero percent of the fault on Brian Cole and 100 percent of the fault on Ford Motor Co. for a defective and unreasonably dangerous vehicle,” Turner said.

Ford spokeswoman Marcey Evans said the accident was a tragedy and the company offered its sympathy to the Cole family for their loss.

However, Evans said in a statement that the Mississippi court “denied Ford a fair trial by excluding evidence that the jury should have heard and considered about Brian’s driving and the speculative nature of plaintiffs’ claims.”