Appeals court backs Tesla in fiery fatal crash in Fort Lauderdale
TALLAHASSEE — In a case stemming from a fiery, fatal crash after an 18-year-old motorist drove 116 mph, a federal appeals court Friday sided with Tesla, Inc. in a dispute about the design of the car’s battery system.
A three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a district-court decision in the lawsuit filed by the father of Barrett Riley, who lost control of the 2014 Tesla Model S in May 2018 on Florida A1A in Fort Lauderdale. After crashing, the car caught fire, with Riley and a passenger, Edgar Monserratt Martinez, dying.
The lawsuit, in part, centered on a decision in March 2018 by Riley’s parents to have Tesla mechanics activate a speed “limiter” that would have prevented the car from going more than 85 mph, according to Friday’s ruling. But the younger Riley returned to the mechanic a few weeks later and had the limiter removed.
A jury in 2022 found Tesla negligent on that issue and awarded $10.5 million in damages. But under what is known as “comparative fault,” it said Tesla was only 1 percent responsible — and should pay $105,000.