Over the past several years, Goodyear has done exhaustive analyses with three separate teams of engineers on the design, materials and processes involved in the manufacture of these light commercial tires, and the results were conclusive that there is no defect of any kind in these tires. If there is no problem with the tire, some customers have asked why Goodyear would settle any lawsuit, which we do on occasion. Often settling lawsuits is a business decision that is made based on the anticipated costs of trying a case through the legal system. A settlement in no way is an admission of a product defect. Goodyear was one of several defendants in that case, including the auto manufacturer, the state of California and the construction company, all of which had a stake in the cost of trying a case like that.
All parties have to agree to move the case forward or to settle.
In this case, the collective decision was made to settle on a business basis. As vehicle owners, you need to understand that tires do fail, and they do separate. They cannot be made indestructible. Tread separation is the most common form of failure for all light commercial tires regardless of who manufactures them. But tread separation does not necessarily indicate a quality issue with the tire.