Find an Apartment! Farmbrooke
Manor - Clinton Twp. MI Forest
Ridge - Rochester MI Garfield
Commons - Clinton Twp. MI Golf
Manor - Roseville MI Huntington
Club Apartments - Warren MI Innsbrook
Apartments - Northville MI Pickwick
Park Townhomes - Taylor MI Riverstone
Apartments - Southfield MI Warren
Manor - Warren MI Warren
Woods - Warren MI Westminster
Park - Taylor MI Woodcrest
Apartment Homes - Westland MI Polo
Club Apartments - Jackson MI Walnut
Hills - Kentwood MI Breton
East - Kentwood MI Hunters
Ridge Apartments - Kentwood MI Breton
Court - Kentwood MI Hidden
Valley Townhomes - Grand Rapids MI Westwind
Townhomes - Lansing MI Cedar
Creek Apartments - Okemos MI Arbor
Pointe Townhomes - Lansing MI

Latest Autos Insider reports

Home
Page

Essentials

CyberSurveys
Forums
Photo
Galleries
Weather
Horoscope
Lottery
Giveaways
Crossword
Contact Us

Autos

Autos
Insider
Drive
-- Car
Reviews
-- Latest
Deals
-- Model
Reports
Joyrides

Business

Business
Money & Life
Careers
-- Find a Job
Real Estate
-- Find a
Home

Metro

Metro/State
Wayne
Oakland
Macomb
Livingston
Commuting
Obituaries
-- Death
Notices
Schools
Special
Reports
Editorials
Columnists
Detroit
History

Nation/World

Nation/World
Politics/Gov
Census
Health
Religion
Technology

Sports

Sports Insider
LIons/NFL
Pistons/NBA
Red Wings/NHL
Tigers/MLB
MSU
U-M
More Colleges
High Schools
Golf
Motor Sports
Outdoors
More Sports
Scoreboards

Entertainment

Entertainment
Events
-- Event Finder
Movies/TV/DVD
-- Movie
Finder
-- TV
Listings
Eats
& Drinks
-- Restaurants
-- Wine Report
Books
CD Reviews
Escapes
Casino Guide
Michigan's
Best

Living

Lifestyle
Homestyle
Fitness

Forums

News
Talk
Autos
Talk
Wings
Talk
Lions
Talk
Pistons
Talk
Tigers
Talk
Big
10 Talk
High
Schools
Movie
Talk
Tech
Talk

Previous Story     Next Story

Sunday, July 13, 2003

Robin Buckson / The Detroit
News

Paul Sheridan,
right, is working with attorney Courtney Morgan on the product
liability lawsuit against Chrysler involving the 2001 death of
Nancy Lou Whitt and the lack of brake-shift interlock devices on
Chrysler minivans.

Exclusive Report

Safety Firebrand Refuses to Relent

Fired employee battles Chrysler in courtroom

By Bill Vlasic / The Detroit News

Robin Buckson / The Detroit News

Paul
Sheridan sees himself as an automotive whistleblower
crusading for minivan safety. Chrysler, who fired him, calls
him a disgruntled employee who leaked confidential company
information.

Robin Buckson / The Detroit News

Sheridan's latest focus is the lack of
brake-shift interlocks on Chrysler
minivans.

Comment on this story
Send this story to a friend
Get Home Delivery

DETROIT -- Paul Sheridan sifted through the pile of police
reports, depositions and legal briefs, and stopped at the autopsy
photographs of Nancy Lou Whitt.

He had seen dozens of autopsies in more than 100 product-liability
lawsuits. But the Whitt case shocked him.

Whitt, 41, died in the driveway of her Tennessee home, her chest and
neck crushed under the left rear wheel of her Chrysler minivan. Police
said her 5-year-old son had accidentally pulled the gearshift lever,
putting the van into reverse with his mother behind it.

Without a trace of expression, Sheridan studied the photos in the
Whitt family's attorney's office in downtown Detroit. Then he lost it.

"It pisses me off," he snapped. "Why should I have to look at these?
Maybe Mr. Eaton should have to look at these photographs and tell me I'm
some disgruntled employee making a living on Chrysler safety."

He worked for Chrysler Corp. for a decade, and chaired the safety
team on an all-new minivan when Bob Eaton was the automaker's chief
executive.

But since 1994, Sheridan has found a new calling as perhaps the most
prolific whistleblower in the auto industry.

Chrysler fired him for allegedly leaking documents, sued him for $82
million and unleashed teams of attorneys to keep him off the witness
stand.

Yet Sheridan couldn't be muzzled. Instead, he became an
around-the-clock resource for trial lawyers targeting the most popular
product in Chrysler history: the minivan.

"It's sort of a new career," said the 51-year-old former product
planner. "What I could not accomplish while I was inside the company,
I'm accomplishing now with my new team, the plaintiffs' bar."

Chrysler -- now part of DaimlerChrysler AG -- brands
Sheridan a discontented, ex-middle manager who earns $100 an hour
peddling his services to attorneys churning out lawsuits against the
company.

But inside the automaker, Sheridan is regarded as a potent opponent.

In an e-mail to Chrysler lawyers in February 2000, David Tyrrell, the
company's top outside safety litigator, called Sheridan "organized,
obsessive and detailed," and warned of the threat he posed.

"He was at Chrysler for an extended period of time, had a good work
history according to his late reviews and awards, and is willing to
testify about Chrysler's knowledge on any number of different issues,"
Tyrrell said.

The e-mail ended with a prediction.

"This guy," Tyrrell said, "is not going away any time soon."

He hasn't.

Sheridan has been a witness or consultant in litigation over air
bags, seat belts, liftgate latches, doors and fuel systems. In the past
six months, lawyers have flown him to New York, Wisconsin, Nebraska,
Florida, Texas and Hawaii to testify, give depositions or sign
affidavits.

He's currently focused on Chrysler minivans and light trucks lacking
brake-shift interlock, a device that prevents shifting of the gear-shift
lever without depressing the brake.

The Whitt wrongful-death case, filed in U.S. District Court in
Nashville, could be the first brake-shift lawsuit to go to trial.
Sheridan is expected to be a key witness.

In prior cases, Chrysler has attacked Sheridan's credentials and
motives. At a May 16 court hearing in Florida, Tyrrell lashed out at an
affidavit Sheridan filed in a brake-shift case.

"He runs around the country as a disgruntled former employee giving
testimony against Chrysler," Tyrrell said.

Broward County Judge Victor Tobin offered a different view.

"One man's disgruntled former employee," Tobin said, "is another
man's expert."

You can reach Bill Vlasic at (313) 222-2152 or mailto:[email-masked]

Previous Story     Next Story

Autos Insider

Autos Insider
index for Sunday, July 13,
2003

Safety
Firebrand Refuses to Relent

Minivan
safety is first big task

Gear-shift
safety is next crusade

Buy-here,
pay-here car dealerships find niche

Not
your father's tank of gasoline

Delphi
plans to increase investments in China

Renault
leads 2.9% gain in June European car sales

New
F-150 price to rise slightly

Ford
names new CFO; two vice presidents

Federal-Mogul
Corp. president named CEO

Customer
satisfaction, quality top Honda agenda

Delphi
to increase investment in China

Ford
insider gets CFO job

Ford
raises top price of F-150 pickup to $35,570

Federal-Mogul
appoints McClure as CEO

Chrysler
sues 3 lawyers, accuses them of filing bogus $2 billion lawsuit

Firms
rated on global warming

Delphi's
Asia-Pacific sales up 30 percent, CEO says

Honda
will boost sales with new models and revamps, new president says

DaimlerChrysler
may end stock options

DaimlerChrysler
puts Georgia plant on hold

Ford
may cut Europe output

Hyundai
may build plant in Slovakia

Sections for
this date

Sunday, July 13, 2003
Select indexHome PageAutos InsiderAutos ConsumerBusinessMoney & LifeCareersCensusCommutingEditorialsMetro/StateLivingstonMacombOaklandWayneDetroitNation/WorldObituariesPoliticsReal EstateReligionSchoolsTechnology..........SportsLions/NFLPistons/NBARed Wings/NHLShock/WNBATigers/BaesballMSUU-MMore CollegesGolf
GuideHigh SchoolsMotor SportsOutdoorsMore Sports...........EntertainmentDecoratingEats & DrinksGardeningHealthHome ImprovementHome
LifeHome Tech

Copyright © 2003
The Detroit News.
Use
of this site indicates your agreement to the Terms of Service
(updated 12/19/2002).