Despite testimony by CEO Sergio Marchionne saying the Jeep's rear-mounted fuel tank is safe, jurors awarded a $150 million to a Georgia family.

Fiat Chrysler asked a Georgia judge to set aside the $150 million verdict levied by a jury against the company and grant a new trial in the case of a boy who burned to death in a 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee after a rear-end collision.

In its appeal, which is pound to prolong the high-profile case, which has garnered substantial media attention, FCA US is claiming that the damages were excessive and unconstitutional under the state of Georgia’s laws. The case, which was decided in April, featured a video deposition of FCA chief executive Sergio Marchionne, who argued FCA US should not be held liable in the case.

The jury awarded $150 million to the family after finding that the rear-positioned fuel tank in the Jeep posed a fire risk and killed the child.

The Decatur County, Georgia, jury reached the verdict just hours after closing arguments concluded the eight-day trial, granting the family’s request for the full value of 4-year-old Remington Walden’s life. Jurors found that FCA US and its predecessor company knew of the potential danger and the jury said Chrysler, the maker of Jeeps, must pay.

Chrysler acted with reckless disregard for human life in selling the family of Remington “Remi” Walden a 1999 Jeep with a gas tank mounted behind the rear axle, the jury found.

The boy was killed when the Jeep driven by his aunt was hit from behind by a pickup truck in March 2012. The fuel tank leaked, engulfing the Jeep in flames, according to the testimony.

The verdict comes nearly two years after Chrysler compromised with a federal safety regulators and agreed to a scaled-down recall of some older-model Jeeps with the rear-mounted tanks. The tanks have little structure to protect them if struck from behind, making them susceptible to punctures and fires.

(Chrysler ordered to pay $150 million due to Jeep fire. For more, Click Here.)

Federal documents show that at least 75 people have died in post-crash fires because of the rear-mounted fuel tanks.

The 11-woman, one-man jury ruled after a nine-day trial that Chrysler was 99% at fault for the crash and the pickup driver was 1% at fault. Jurors also determined that Chrysler failed to warn the family of the hazards of driving the Jeep. They ruled that the Waldens should get $30 million for Remi’s pain and suffering and $120 million for the full value of his life, according to a verdict form.

Mike Palese, spokesman for Chrysler parent company FCA US, said the company is disappointed with the verdict and would appeal. Chrysler, he said, was prevented from presenting data submitted to federal safety regulators showing that the vehicles did not pose an unreasonable safety risk.

(Click Here for details about how slow pace of Jeep repairs may be problematic for FCA.)

“The vehicles are not defective,” Palese said.

The automaker firmly believes the older Jeep SUVs with gas tanks located behind the rear axle are no more susceptible to fires than other SUVs, Marchionne said during his video deposition.

“Our analysis of that data suggested these were defect-free vehicles, and that they performed exactly as the rest of the comparative class performed in the marketplace at the time. Our analysis suggests very clearly that this is not a defect,” Marchionne said in his taped deposition.

(To see more about Marchionne defending the safety of Jeeps in court, Click Here.)

Under government pressure, FCA has recalled an estimated 1.56 million 2002-07 Jeep Liberty and 1993-2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee SUVs for the problem in June 2013, and agreed to install trailer hitches to protect the gas tanks. In an abundance of caution, it sent letters to 2.27 million owners, though it is not clear how many are still on the road.