A man who battled Ford Motor Co. for 10...

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LOS ANGELES -- A man who battled Ford Motor Co. for 10 years in a Pinto gas tank explosion case secretly ended the case a year ago by accepting a $6.6 million out-of-court settlement, it was reported Wednesday.

The Los Angeles Times said Richard Grimshaw's settlement is much less than the landmark $127.8 million in damages awarded him in 1978 by a Santa Ana jury in a product liability lawsuit against Ford. The judge in that trial later deemed the award excessive and reduced it to $6.6 million.

'Essentially, with only minor modifications, Ford paid the verdict as ordered by the (trial) judge,' Grimshaw's attorney, Art Hews, said. He added that all parties agreed not to dis:lose terms of the settlement.

Grimshaw, now 23, accepted a lump sum payment from Ford while awaiting action on the case in the U.S. Supreme Court. In 1981 The California Supreme Court turned down Grimshaw's bid to have the original award restored, but also refused Ford's appeal.

Grimshaw was critically burned over 90 percent of his body 10 years ago when the Pinto in which he was a passenger was involved in a collision near Bakersfield. The gas tank of the car exploded, and the car's driver died two days later.

A Ford spokesman in Dearborn, Mich., confirmed there was an out-of-court settlement, but cited the secrecy agreement in declining to dis:uss the details.

Grimshaw, who now lives in Anaheim, Calif., has undergone more than 50 operations to repair burn damage. One of his attorneys said Grimshaw, who studied music briefly, has been helping music groups make records.

The case was based on allegations that Ford deliberately fitted Pintos with poorly designed gas tanks that burst even upon light impact in order to save productions costs of $10 to $50 per car.

Ford argued the gas tanks were safe and that they conformed to all federal safety standards existing in 1972, but federal authorities persuaded Ford to recall all the cars for modifications shortly after the Grimshaw case gained national attention.

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