Michelin settled a lawsuit Tuesday with the families of four people who died when their church van overturned due to a faulty tire. In a press release issued yesterday, consumer interest group Public Citizen accused the tire giant of settling the suit to avoid the release of incriminating documents concerning the safety of the company's tires that may have occurred during a trial. Last week, Michelin filed a motion to put a gag order on the jury so that information disclosed during the trial remained a secret. It was subsequently denied.

According to Public Citizen, gag orders prevent the public from obtaining vital knowledge about a product's safety. Orders issued during lawsuits involving Firestone tires kept the public uninformed about the dangers of tire tread separation until it was too late, says the interest group.