A federal appeals court in Denver ruled Tuesday that the two survivors and families of seven Utah State University students killed in a 2005 van crash have a right to see detailed information about how Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. makes tires.

The lawsuit, brought in U.S. District Court in Utah a year after the accident, had been stalled for 15 months while the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals considered Cooper Tire's petition, which would have restricted the information given to the plaintiffs' attorneys.

"They ruled on all four corners in our favor," said Logan attorney Brad Bearnson, who represents the survivors and families. "It's been a long time in coming, but we should get the information we're entitled to."

Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. spokesmen in Ohio, where the company is based, were not available for comment late Tuesday afternoon.

Eight students and their agriculture instructor died in September 2005 near Tremonton as they were returning to the Logan campus from a field trip to a farm.

Cooper made the tires on the 15-passenger van, which rolled several times after the left rear tire blew.

The families settled their claims against the maker of the van, Chrysler, 16 months ago, and their claims against Cooper are the only ones still pending.

The lawsuit alleges that Cooper Tire knew the design and manufacture of its tires were faulty and did not fix the problems.

Their attorneys wanted to see documents

Advertisement
pertaining to the design and manufacture of similar Cooper Tires, and Magistrate Paul Warner, backed by federal Judge Tena Campbell in Utah, ruled that they were entitled to such discovery, whether or not those same documents are eventually admitted as evidence.

Cooper argued in its petition to the 10th Circuit that Warner and Campbell had abused their discretion and that such extensive "discovery" would be a burden that would expose the company's trade secrets.

A three-judge panel from the 10th Circuit disagreed.

"Any possible errors by the district court in its discovery rulings did not rise to the level of a gross abuse of discretion or usurpation of judicial power," the decision said.

Colin King, a Salt Lake City personal injury attorney who is not involved in the rollover lawsuit, noted that decisions concerning discovery, or the pretrial exchange of information, are preliminary.

Later rulings by a judge or agreements between both sides can limit the evidence presented to a jury, he said.

Bearnson said that given the court's calendar, he doubts the case will go to trial before next summer.

Tribune reporter Pamela Manson contributed to this story.

kmoulton@sltrib.com