On Sept. 28, 2008, plaintiffs’ decedent Adam Ike, 36, a chef, went to pick up two Ford E250 Econoline cargo vans that the catering company he worked for had pre-arranged to rent from Coast Truck Rental in San Francisco. After Ike and Jennifer Spiegel, a co-owner of the catering company, completed the vehicle rental paperwork, they walked out to the parking lot to retrieve their respective cargo vans. Ike found his vehicle and pulled the van out from its parking space, but stopped it 20 feet from the space when he saw that Spiegel could not locate her van. He then opened the driver’s side door and stood up to speak to Spiegel while his van’s engine was still running. As Ike was leaning out through the open driver’s side door, his vehicle lurched backward, causing him to lose his balance and fall out of the van. He was subsequently run over by the vehicle, crushing his head and chest. Ike was then rushed to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead a short time later. Ike’s parents, Elaine and Toshio Ike, acting as the representatives of their son’s estate, sued the van’s manufacturer, Ford Motor Co.; a Ford dealership, South City Motors Inc., which was acting individually and doing business as S&C Ford; the rental company, Thomas I. Pendergast Inc., which was doing business as Coast Truck Rental; the broker who sold the van to Coast Truck Rental, Eckhaus Fleet, LLC; and an independent repair facility, Raymond Pineda, who was doing business as Tech-1 Automotive. The plaintiffs claimed that the van was defectively designed and manufactured, negligently sold with the defect, and not properly inspected or repaired. Thus, they alleged that the defendants were liable for their son’s wrongful death by failing to properly and timely address this defect. Eckhaus Fleet was served, but never appeared in court and was ultimately dismissed by the plaintiffs in 2010. In addition, Ford Motor and South City Motors settled out of the case before trial for $75,000. Thus, the matter proceeded to trial against Thomas I. Pendergast Inc. and Raymond Pineda only. Plaintiffs’ counsel contended that the Ford cargo van had a tendency for unintended/uncontrolled acceleration in reverse and that the defendants failed to address this defect. Counsel also contended that the Ford van’s sudden malfunction, loss of control and uncontrolled acceleration in reverse placed the decedent in imminent peril. At trial, plaintiffs’ counsel argued that the cargo van in question was negligently maintained by the rental company, Coast Truck Rental, and the independent repair facility that serviced the van, Tech-1 Automotive. Counsel contended that the shift mechanism in the van was worn out, causing the decedent to mis-shift the vehicle into “false park,” or put the shifter on the “land” between the “park” and “reverse” positions on the insert plate at the bottom of the shift tube. Counsel asserted that as a result, the van spontaneously shifted into hydraulic reverse. Counsel for Thomas I. Pendergast Inc., which was doing business as Coast Truck Rental, and Raymond Pineda, who was doing business as Tech-1 Automotive, argued that the van was safe and well-maintained. They contended that the van had been serviced two months before the incident, and that 20 other renters of that that specific cargo van had no problems driving, shifting or getting it out of gear. Defense counsel further argued that the accident occurred solely due to the decedent’s operation error. They contended that before the decedent stood up in the van, he had placed the vehicle in reverse and depressed the brake with his right foot. Counsel argued that the decedent placed himself in a dangerous position by standing partly in and partly out of the van with his foot on the brake and the driver’s side door wide open. In addition, defense counsel contended that the van moved backward when the decedent lost his footing on the brake, causing him to fall out of the vehicle., Adam Ike was run over by a van, resulting crush to his head and chest. Ike was subsequently rushed to San Francisco General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead a short time later. Ike was 36. Ike’s parents sought recovery of wrongful death damages in the amount of $4 million.