Kubota Tractor Class Action Lawsuit Claims Wiring Attracts Rodents

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A class action lawsuit filed against the Kubota Tractor Corporation claims that the company uses wiring that attracts rodents.

The plaintiff is Burgess Properties LLC, an Alabama corporation that uses Kubota tractors. Allegedly, Burgess purchased a 2017 Kubota L5460HSTC Tractor on Sept. 28, 2017 to use for work purposes.

Burgess reportedly stored the tractor in a covered barn, as many tractor owners do. The company claims that the tractor failed in January 2018, and after taking it in for a repair assessment it was discovered that the wiring harnesses had been destroyed by rodent chewing.

An authorized Kubota dealer allegedly told Burgess that the wiring had been destroyed because it was made from a soy-based product that attracted rodents. Allegedly, Burgess was informed that the repair would cost $1,753.10, and that the rodent-related damage would not be covered by Kubota’s warranty.

The Kubota tractor class action lawsuit claims that soy and bio-based wiring is known to attract rodents more than wiring covered by glass, plastic, or polymer-based insulations. Soy-based insulation is reportedly cheaper than the alternatives, but attracts rodents because rodents eat soy and bio-based products.

Reportedly, many companies began using soy and bio-based wiring after gas prices rose in the mid to late 2000s, when fewer people bought vehicles, and vehicle manufacturers saw a downturn in profits. Thus, many companies made efforts to decrease their manufacturing costs, including the cost of wiring.

Burgess claims that the Kubota dealer told them that Kubota had started using the soy-based wiring because the company was experiencing financial problems.

In 2012, the United States Department of Agriculture reported on the use of soy-based wiring, noting that many companies did tout the fact that soy or bio-based wiring is more environmentally friendly than synthetic wiring, but that most companies used it for its cost effectiveness.

The Kubota tractor wiring class action states that Kubota knowingly caused customers financial injury by using a material that put wiring at risk to rodent damage, and by refusing to cover the damage in a warranty.

Burgess claims that had they known that the wiring could be easily damaged by rodents, they would not have purchased the vehicle, or would not have paid as much for it as they did.

Additionally, the Kubota wiring class action lawsuit claims that Kubota knowingly endangered the safety of the tractor drivers and others. They allege that rodent damage to wiring can cause a vehicle’s systems to fail in ways that can cause the vehicle to malfunction, get into a collision, and otherwise be dangerous.

Burgess states that soy and bio-based wiring is not suitable for its intended purchase, and that Kubota knew this but used it nonetheless in the interest of increasing its profits and decreasing its costs, while causing injury to customers, drivers, lessees, and others.

Burgess Properties LLC is represented by Joseph “Jay” H. Aughtman of Aughtman Law Firm LLC, Richard M. Golomb and Kenneth J. Greenfield of Golomb & Honik PC, and Richard D. Morrison of The Morrison Law Firm LLC.

The Kubota Tractor Soy-Based Wiring Class Action Lawsuit is Burgess Properties LLC v. Kubota Tractor Corporation, et al., Case No. 5:18-cv-00897, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, Northeastern Division.