Suzuki vs. CU: what you could lose.(have you heard?)(Suzuki suit against Consumers Union)

Amendment 1. Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.--US. CONSTITUTION

Since 1936 Consumers Union has published the objective, unbiased, accurate results of our consumer-product testing to tell consumers which products we found were effective, reliable, and safe--and which were not.

In 1988 we published the results of tests of four SUVs, including the Suzuki Samurai, which had tipped up severely on two wheels on CU's emergency-avoidance-maneuver course. The other three vehicles did not tip up. CONSUMER REPORTS judged the Samurai "Not Acceptable" because of the risk of rollover. In 1996 Suzuki sued us for product disparagement.

In 2000 a federal district judge dismissed the case, finding Suzuki's evidence too paltry to warrant a trial. Suzuki appealed and won a ruling that the case should go to trial. In May, CU's effort to have the full Court of Appeals rehear that ruling was denied by a vote of 13-to-11.

Writing the dissent, Judge Alex Kozinski said, "If Suzuki can get to trial on evidence this flimsy, no consumer group in the country will be safe from assault by hordes of handsomely paid lawyers deploying scorched-earth litigation tactics." He continued: "The ultimate losers will be American consumers denied access to independent information about the safety and usefulness of products they buy with ...