Citgo Tractor Fluid Class Action Settled for $19M

Citgo will pay almost $19 million to end claims that its tractor fluid does not meet modern specifications and can cause damage to equipment.

Of the $18.83 million settlement, 70 percent of the funds will be used to refund customers for their purchases. The rest will be used to provide repairs for damaged equipment and reimbursement for damage allegedly caused by the oil.

Class Members include those customers who purchased one of the following Citgo oils: SuperTech 303 Tractor Hydraulic Oil, Tractor Transmission Hydraulic Fluid, and Oscheln Premium 303 Tractor Hydraulic & Transmission Fluid.

Each product has a different date range in which customers qualify for benefits, but customers who bought the oils as early as 2013 may qualify as part of the Class.

Class Members would be able to recover compensation from the settlement while the customers’ attorneys would receive $5.9 million of the settlement deal.

Customers in the Citgo oil class action lawsuit argued that the oils sold by the company did not meet modern specifications, and instead adhered to a standard that has not been used since the 1970s — the John Deere 303 specifications.

The tractor oil specs class action lawsuit claimed that Citgo knew or should have known that the oil products were not in alignment with modern specifications.

According to the plaintiffs, the company “knew that at the time they were marketing the 303 THF products during the class period, there were no specifications available for ‘303’ tractor hydraulic fluid.”

To support the claim that the products did not meet modern requirements, as well as the argument that Citgo was aware of this but sold them anyway, the customers stated that Missouri’s Department of Agriculture tested 303 oils and determined that the products labeled as such did not meet modern requirements.

Furthermore, the customers claimed that the products could damage equipment. Allegedly, Missouri’s testing of the products indicated the same.

According to the plaintiffs, modern specifications require the fluids to include several additives that Citgo oils lacked. The additives allegedly protect vehicles and increase performance.

The Citgo oil labeling class action lawsuit noted that the damage caused by Citgo oils could pose a hazard, as the equipment could fail during farming, construction, and logging use.

This Citgo class action settlement is not the only one of its kind. In August, the same lead plaintiff reached a settlement for another obsolete oil class action lawsuit worth $1.7 million.

Have you purchased Citgo oil? Do you assume that it meets modern requirements? Tell us about your experience in the comments below.

The customers are represented by Bryan White, Gene P. Graham Jr. and William L. Carr of White Graham Buckley & Carr LLC and Dirk L. Hubbard and Thomas V. Bender of Horn Aylward & Bandy LLC.

The Citgo Oil Specifications Class Action Lawsuit is Hornbeck, et al. v. Orscheln Farm and Home LLC, et al., Case No. 4:18-cv-00941, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri.

UPDATE: April 2020, the Citgo tractor fluid class action settlement is now open. Click here to file a claim.

Read More Lawsuit & Settlement News:

Purell Class Action Says Hand Sanitizer Can’t Prevent Serious Diseases

How Do You Know if Lung Cancer Is Caused by Asbestos?

Approval Team Class Action Alleges Wage and Hour Violations

Johnson and Johnson Baby Powder Lawsuit Ends With $186 Million in Punitive Damages