Michael Douglas

Michael Douglas is to star in a new film based on a 2000 civil lawsuit against US auto giant Ford over safety issues in its sports utility vehicles.

Daily Variety reported on Tuesday that the Oscar-winning star of "Wall Street" and "Traffic" would play the attorney who took Ford to court on behalf of a single mother from Texas left paralyzed after an accident.

Lawyer Tab Turner won a multi-million dollar settlement for Donna Bailey in the case, reputed to be the biggest product liability case in US history.

"This gives me the chance to play a different kind of character. I played a lawyer once, in 'Fatal Attraction,' and there wasn't much about the law in that picture," Douglas told Variety.

The film would be based on journalist Adam Penenberg's 2003 book "Tragic Indifference: One Man's Battle With the Auto Industry Over the Dangers of SUVs".

The lawsuit related to the problems with Firestone tires fitted on Ford's popular Explorer vehicles.