Ford Motor Co. v. Hetsler

In a products liability case arising from a Mustang that exploded and catastrophically injured its owner, Ford appealed the denial of its directed verdict motion and the application of the Cassisi inference (product malfunction during normal use creates a prima facie defect case). The Fifth DCA withdrew its earlier PCA and issued a written opinion affirming solely on the ground that Ford's initial brief was insufficiently briefed y, conclassertions, misdescribed authority, unsupported record citations, and failure to confront the trial court's actual rulings. A special concurrence would have also affirmed on the merits, holding the Cassisi inference properly applied.

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