Facts of the Case In the case of Cooper Tire and Rubber vs. Mendez, we examine the appeal to the Supreme Court of Texas by Cooper Tire and Rubber against Mendez. Previously, Mendez had alleged that Cooper Tire created a defective tire that resulted in the deaths of four passengers. The two survivors had been awarded $11 million dollars in damages and the appeals court affirmed. (Meiners). Mendez had alleged although the tire had been penetrated by a nail, that it was actually a defective tire tread manufactured by Cooper Tire that was the cause of the accident and subsequent deaths. Cooper Tire and Rubber appealed the decision. They were seeking proof of the claims weighed against them. The defendant, Mendez, chose to hire Richard Grogan to be their expert witness. Mr. Grogan touted himself as a tire expert. He had a novel theory explaining that during the manufacturing process at Cooper Tire, the skim stock had been contaminated with wax causing the belts to eventually separate and the tire to catastrophically malfunction. However, it was found that Mr. Grogan had no formal education relevant to the chemistry, engineering or tire design.…show more content… Grogan was found to be faulty and the defendant lost the case as it rested on the claims of their expert. Since the evidence that Grogan offered was unfounded and determined to be unscientifically sound, the court rejected his testimony. Therefore, with no other expert witnesses to come forth, Mendez had essentially no supporting defense to rely upon. The Supreme Court of Texas found in favor of Cooper Tire and
