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2. What are the benefits available to Class Members? 3. What vehicles are involved in this litigation and settlement? 4. Who are members of the Class eligible for Settlement benefits? 5. What is the reimbursement benefit and how do I know if I am eligible to receive it? 6. How do I make a claim for reimbursement? 7. Where do I send a Claim Form? 8. What is the extended warranty benefit and how do I know if I am eligible to receive it? 9. How do I obtain service under the extended warranty? 10. Will I be responsible for attorney fees for Class Counsel? 11. Can I exclude myself or object to the settlement or attorney fees? 12. How do I obtain a Vehicle Identification Number? 13. What happens if I do not exclude myself from the Class and the Settlement? 14. When did the settlement become effective? 15. After the claims are received, what will happen and when will the claims be paid? 16. I lost my Notice. Can you send me another one? 17. I lost my Claim Form. Can you send me another one? 18. What is the deadline for submitting my Claim Form? 19. Can I file my claim over the phone or on the Internet?
2. What are the benefits available to Class Members? In summary only, and as more fully described in other Questions and Answers here, there are three benefits from the Settlement: (1) for current owners of class vehicles, an extended warranty for any Ford-manufactured (i.e., Motorcraft® brand) distributor-mounted TFI module, to 100,000 miles; (2) for current and former owners of class vehicles, reimbursement of any costs they have paid for replacing a Ford-manufactured (i.e., Motorcraft® brand) distributor-mounted TFI module within the first 100,000 miles of vehicle operation, including the cost of the TFI module(s), labor charges, and towing charges, if any; and (3) Ford also agrees as part of the settlement to contribute the amount of $5 million to various colleges and universities for use in conducting research related to motor vehicle safety. 3. What vehicles are involved in this litigation and settlement? To go to a list of those Ford, Lincoln, or Mercury vehicle lines in which at least some of the vehicles were equipped with DISTRIBUTOR-MOUNTED TFI-IV MODULES, click here. 4. Who are members of the Class eligible for Settlement benefits? To be eligible for benefits under the settlement, a person must be within the Settlement Class, which includes all persons residing in the United States who (1) currently own or lease a 1983 through 1995 model-year Ford, Lincoln, or Mercury vehicle with a distributor-mounted thick film ignition ("TFI") module ("class vehicles"); (2) have owned or leased a 1983 through 1995 model-year Ford, Lincoln, or Mercury vehicle with a distributor-mounted TFI module and paid or were charged for the cost of replacing a TFI module in such vehicle; or (3) purchased or leased a 1983 through 1995 model-year Ford, Lincoln, or Mercury vehicle with a distributor-mounted TFI module when that vehicle was new. The Settlement Notice contains a list of the Ford, Lincoln and Mercury models that comprise the class vehicles and also sets forth categories of persons who are excluded from the class. You may obtain a copy of this Notice by clicking here. If, after reviewing the class definition set forth in the Settlement Notice, you have any question whether a particular Ford, Lincoln, or Mercury vehicle is a class vehicle, you may obtain a more detailed enumeration of class vehicles by clicking here. The Settlement Class EXCLUDES the following entities and persons: (a) Ford Motor Company, its subsidiaries and affiliates, officers, directors, and employees; (b) persons who have suffered physical injury as a result of a malfunctioning distributor-mounted TFI module installed in a class vehicle, as well as the legal representatives, heirs, successors or assigns of any excluded class member; (c) persons who have filed separate non-class legal actions against Ford asserting claims substantially similar to those alleged in the Related Actions; (d) persons who have settled with and validly released Ford from individual claims substantially similar to those alleged in the Related Actions; and (e) persons who have previously timely and validly requested exclusion from the class certified in Howard v. Ford Motor Company. 5. What is the reimbursement benefit and how do I know if I am eligible to receive it? To be eligible for benefits under the settlement, a person must be within the Settlement Class, which includes all persons residing in the United States who (1) currently own or lease a 1983 through 1995 model-year Ford, Lincoln, or Mercury vehicle with a distributor-mounted thick film ignition ("TFI") module ("class vehicles"); (2) have owned or leased a 1983 through 1995 model-year Ford, Lincoln, or Mercury vehicle with a distributor-mounted TFI module and paid or were charged for the cost of replacing a TFI module in such vehicle; or (3) purchased or leased a 1983 through 1995 model-year Ford, Lincoln, or Mercury vehicle with a distributor-mounted TFI module when that vehicle was new. The Settlement Notice contains a list of the Ford, Lincoln and Mercury models that comprise the class vehicles and also sets forth categories of persons who are excluded from the class. You may obtain a copy of this Notice by clicking here. If, after reviewing the class definition set forth in the Settlement Notice, you have any question whether a particular Ford, Lincoln, or Mercury vehicle is a class vehicle, you may obtain a more detailed enumeration of class vehicles by clicking here. As part of the settlement, Ford has agreed to reimburse Settlement Class Members who have incurred costs in replacing a Ford-manufactured (i.e., Motorcraft® brand) distributor-mounted TFI-IV module in a class vehicle that had been in operation for 100,000 miles or less at the time of the replacement. The reimbursement benefit applies to costs Settlement Class Members incurred in replacing a Ford-manufactured (Motorcraft® brand) TFI module, even if the replacement TFI module was manufactured by a company other than Ford (such as Napa, Echlin, Dana, Wells Manufacturing, Standard Motor Products, or any other third-party manufacturer of TFI modules). The reimbursement benefit does not apply to costs incurred in replacing a TFI module that was manufactured by another manufacturer of TFI modules; that is, Ford will provide reimbursement for the replacement of a Ford-manufactured (Motorcraft® brand) TFI module, but it will not provide reimbursement for replacing a TFI module that Ford did not manufacture. 6.
How do I make a claim for reimbursement? 7. Where do I send a Claim Form? If you received the Supplemental Settlement Notice and wish to submit a claim for reimbursable costs incurred you must mail the completed claim form and supporting proof-of-purchase documentation to: 8. What is the extended warranty benefit and how do I know if I am eligible to receive it? To be eligible for
benefits under the settlement, a person must be within the Settlement
Class, which includes all persons residing in the United States who (1)
currently own or lease a 1983 through 1995 model-year Ford, Lincoln, or
Mercury vehicle with a distributor-mounted thick film ignition ("TFI")
module ("class vehicles"); (2) have owned or leased a 1983 through
1995 model-year Ford, Lincoln, or Mercury vehicle with a distributor-mounted
TFI module and paid or were charged for the cost of replacing a TFI module
in such vehicle; or (3) purchased or leased a 1983 through 1995 model-year
Ford, Lincoln, or Mercury vehicle with a distributor-mounted TFI module
when that vehicle was new. The Settlement Notice contains a list of the
Ford, Lincoln and Mercury models that comprise the class vehicles and
also sets forth categories of persons who are excluded from the class.
You may obtain a copy of this Notice by clicking
here. If, after reviewing the class definition set forth in the Settlement
Notice, you have any question whether a particular Ford, Lincoln, or Mercury
vehicle is a class vehicle, you may obtain a more detailed enumeration
of class vehicles by clicking here. 9. How do I obtain service under the extended warranty? Since December 16, 2002, Ford has been providing to current owners of class vehicles an extension of vehicle warranty coverage with respect to Ford-manufactured (i.e., Motorcraft ® brand) TFI modules at the first 100,000 miles of vehicle operation. Service under this extended warranty will be available at all Ford dealers. 10. Will I be responsible for attorney fees for Class Counsel? No. When the Court approved the settlement, the Court determined the amount of attorney fees and expenses to be paid to counsel for the Settlement Class. Ford Motor Company has paid the amount fixed by the Court as reasonable attorney fees and expenses ($28,970,153.03). Payment of attorney fees and expenses to Class Counsel did not reduce any funds or benefits being made available to the Settlement Class. 11. Can I exclude myself or object to the settlement or attorney fees? All class members had the opportunity to exclude themselves from the class, but the deadline for submitting a Request for Exclusion expired on May 23, 2002. 12. How do I obtain a Vehicle Identification Number? If you received a Supplemental Settlement Notice and wish to submit a claim for reimbursable costs that you incurred for replacement of a TFI module, among the information you must provide to support your claim is the Vehicle Identification Number ("VIN") of the class vehicle you owned or leased. The VIN can be found on the vehicle in two locations (on the top of the dashboard as you look through the windshield near the steering column and also in the driver's door jamb) and in your certificate of title or other motor vehicle registration document. 13. What happens if I did not exclude myself from the Class and the Settlement? If you come within the Settlement Class definition and if you DO NOT fit the above-description of those individuals EXCLUDED from the Settlement Class, and DID NOT file a request for exclusion by May 23, 2002, you are a member of the Settlement Class and are bound by the settlement. Members of the Settlement Class who did not exclude themselves are precluded from bringing a similar lawsuit. Persons who excluded themselves from the Settlement Class are not be bound by the terms of the settlement. 14. When did the settlement become effective? The settlement became
effective on December 9, 2002, after dismissal of the small number of
class member appeals from the trial court's approval of the settlement
and satisfaction of the other conditions to the settlement. 15. After the claims are received, what will happen and when will the claims be paid? Ford has processed the claims submitted by class members. If you received the Supplemental Settlement Notice and submit a reimbursement claim, Ford will begin to process claims on May 21, 2005 after the claims deadline for the class members who received the Supplemental Settlement Notice. 16. I lost my Notice. Can you send me another one? Yes. You may request a duplicate Notice by writing to: TFI Settlement Administrator or, by calling toll-free at 1-866-285-5100 or click here. 17. I lost my Claim Form. Can you send me another one? Yes. Note that for
replacements that occurred on or before March 24, 2002, the deadline to
file claims expired on October 18, 2002. For claims related to TFI module
replacement that occurred after March 24, 2002 (but before December
16, 2002, when the extended warranty commenced), you may request a Claim
Form by writing to: 18. What is the deadline for submitting my Claim Form? Settlement Class Members who wish to claim reimbursement must send in a timely Claim Form. The form must be signed under penalty of perjury. If you were sent the Supplemental Settlement Notice, the deadline for submitting claims related to a TFI module replacement is May 28, 2005. If you were not sent the Supplemental Settlement Notice, the claims deadline has expired. A Claim Form and applicable instructions for filing a claim for reimbursable costs incurred may be obtained by clicking here. 19. Can I file my claim over the phone or on the Internet? No. You must mail the completed claim form and supporting proof-of-purchase documentation, if any, to: TFI Settlement Administrator |