"Engineer vs. lawyer in SUV suit: Court sparring focusses on claims that Ford hid its worries the Explorer was prone to tipping over"

On Saturday, the Sacramento Bee had this article on the Ford Explorer trial. Thanks to the blog reader who emailed me with the link.

Also, today's Recorder has a profile of Judge David De Alba (subscription), who is presiding over the Ford trial. An excerpt:

The Sacramento County Superior Court judge is in the midst of overseeing a three-month long, potentially multibillion-dollar class action against Ford Motor Co. The counsel tables are teeming with lawyers, the briefs are thick, the exhibits are many, and the lengthy testimony about the Ford Explorer's alleged rollover danger can be technical, if not tedious.

And after the plaintiffs surprised everyone by waiving their right to a jury on the first day of trial, De Alba became the center of attention.

"It's a fascinating trial," the judge said recently, declining to say more, given the trial's ongoing status.

....

De Alba will face another new challenge soon. Chief Justice Ronald George has assigned him to a "strike team" of retired and active judges that will temporarily relocate to Riverside County courts to try to whittle away at the backload of cases there. De Alba will leave when the Ford class action ends.