--- title: Court Upholds Survey-Based Damages Approach in O’Connor v. Ford Motor Co. description: In a recent class action decision, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois delivered a significant win for the plaintiffs’ survey-based damages methodology and for Steve Gaskin, the plaintiffs’ testifying survey expert supported by Applied Marketing Science, Inc. 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Ford Motor Co. # Court Upholds Survey-Based Damages Approach in O’Connor v. Ford Motor Co. In a recent class action decision for *O’Connor v. Ford Motor Co.,* Case No. 19-cv-5045, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois delivered a significant win for the plaintiffs’ survey-based damages methodology and for Steve Gaskin, the plaintiffs’ testifying survey expert supported by Applied Marketing Science, Inc. (AMS). The court denied Ford’s motion to exclude Gaskin’s testimony in its entirety, allowing his proposed conjoint survey methodology to move forward as part of the plaintiffs’ class certification case. At the core of this Seventh Circuit ruling was a challenge seen frequently in modern consumer class actions: whether damages can be measured on a class-wide basis using survey research. Plaintiffs alleged that consumers overpaid for Ford F-150 trucks due to an undisclosed transmission defect and relied on Gaskin’s proposed choice-based conjoint survey to quantify the reduction in market value attributable to that defect. The court emphasized that conjoint analysis is a widely accepted and commonly used technique in market research for valuing product attributes and estimating price premiums or discounts, noting in its analysis that Gaskin relied on principles and methods widely accepted in the relevant scientific community, and that those principles were reliably applied. Importantly, the court rejected an array of Daubert challenges to the survey design. Ford argued that the proposed survey was unreliable because the survey had not yet been conducted, failed to incorporate supply-side factors, and allegedly contained flaws in sampling, wording, and structure. The court disagreed across the board, holding that these critiques go to the weight of the evidence rather than admissibility. The court further noted that, at the class certification stage, plaintiffs need only demonstrate a workable methodology capable of measuring damages on a class-wide basis, not produce final results. Finally, the ruling highlights the benefits of integrating survey research with economic analysis. The court allowed the plaintiffs’ economist, Colin Weir, to rely on Gaskin’s survey results in order to construct a class-wide overpayment model. The decision further confirms that a rigorous conjoint-based framework can support aggregate damages calculations consistent with Rule 23 requirements and that a carefully designed survey, grounded in accepted principles of market research, can withstand Daubert scrutiny and play a central role in demonstrating class-wide impact. AMS has been involved in dozens of class action studies where conjoint analysis has been used in support of class certification and settlement. To learn more about AMS Litigation Support services, surveys for class action litigation matters, or settlement report services, please contact [Patty Yanes](mailto:pyanes@ams-inc.com).  Share this: Previous Next ### SUBSCRIBE TO OUR BLOG ### Categories - [Trademark (59)](https://blog.ams-litigation.com/tag/trademark) - [News (28)](https://blog.ams-litigation.com/tag/news) - [Conference (23)](https://blog.ams-litigation.com/tag/conference) - [Conjoint Analysis (20)](https://blog.ams-litigation.com/tag/conjoint-analysis) - [Deceptive Advertising (18)](https://blog.ams-litigation.com/tag/deceptive-advertising) - [False Advertising (18)](https://blog.ams-litigation.com/tag/false-advertising) - [Likelihood of Confusion (17)](https://blog.ams-litigation.com/tag/likelihood-of-confusion) ### Applied Marketing Science Founded in 1989 with roots in the MIT Sloan School of Management, Applied Marketing Science is a market research and consulting firm with an established practice focused on consumer surveys for litigation. ### Join Our Mailing List By submitting your information you agree to receive electronic communications from AMS. You may unsubscribe at any time. ### Recent Posts ### Contact Us Applied Marketing Science 78 Blanchard Road, Suite 203 Burlington MA 01803   Phone: [781.250.6300](callto://17812506300) Email: [litigation@ams-inc.com](mailto:litigation@ams-inc.com) [AMS Corporate Site](http://www.ams-inc.com) ©2023 Applied Marketing Science, Inc. | [Sitemap](https://ams-litigation.com/sitemap_index.xml) | [Terms of Use](https://ams-litigation.com/terms-of-use/) | [Privacy Policy](https://ams-litigation.com/privacy-policy) - - ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Juli Lin", "url" : "https://blog.ams-litigation.com/author/juli-lin" }, "dateModified" : "2026-06-09T14:00:02.224Z", "datePublished" : "2026-06-09T14:00:02.000Z", "headline" : "Court Upholds Survey-Based Damages Approach in O’Connor v. 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