Navistar Hit with Second Class Action Lawsuit over Engine Defect

On Tuesday, a putative class action lawsuit was filed against Navistar Inc. in Florida alleging defects in the trucking company’s MaxxForce heavy-duty diesel engines cause overheating and violate U.S. Environmental Protection Act (EPA) standards.

Lead plaintiff, Priority Towing Inc., alleges in the class action lawsuit that Navistar’s MaxxForce engines emission control systems contain a defect that causes the engines to recirculate air and subjects the engines to high temperatures and engine failure, requiring constant repairs, and that the systems do not reduce exhaust emissions as required by the EPA.

“These repeated warranty repairs and replacements failed to repair or correct the Advanced EGRs’ defects resulting in damages, including diminished value of the vehicles powered by MaxxForce engines, the costs to re-power the vehicles with diesel engines that are compliant with the EPA emission standards, and out of pocket expenses resulting from breakdowns,” the class action lawsuit says. “On information and belief, Navistar’s Advanced EGR system produced more heat and pressure than the system was able to cope with, leading to repeated breakdowns of the EGR system, including broken sensors, valves, and other System and Engine components.”

The plaintiff alleges that the company authorized many repairs and equipment replacements, but did nothing to correct the defect. The Navistar class action lawsuit also alleges that Navistar removed Advanced EGR technology for model years 2014. The class action lawsuit proposes a Class of all people who purchased or leased a vehicle with 2010 to ’13 model year Navistar 11-, 13- and 15-liter MaxxForce Advanced EGR diesel engine, or MaxxForce 7, DT, 9 and 10 mid-range diesel engines

The Florida class action lawsuit comes on the heels of another similar class action filed in Illinois in July. In that case, three trucking companies, Denis Gray Trucking, Carmichael Leasing and GTL Enterprises, who had purchased and used several Navistar model trucks equipped with the allegedly defective Maxxforce Advanced EGR diesel engines alleged that Navistar knowingly sold trucks that with defective engines and failed to repair the defect before the warranties’ expiration dates, placing the burden of repair and maintenance on the truck owners.

According to the Illinois class action lawsuit, “trucks equipped with the defective engines were not as represented by Navistar and were and are worth less than the price plaintiffs and class members paid, and what they would have been worth with an engine free from defects[.]” Additionally, also in July, a judge dismissed a fraud case against Navistar concerning alleged concealment of the defect, finding that the complaint did not provide adequate detail to support fraud allegations.

Priority Towing Inc. is represented by Steve R. Jaffe, Mark Fistos and Seth M. Lehrman of Farmer Jaffe Weissing Edwards Fistos & Lehrman PL, Steven G. Calamusa of Gordon & Doner PA, Richard J. Burke, Jeffrey A. Leon, Jamie E. Weiss and Zachary Jacobs of Quantum Legal LLC, Jonathan Shub of Seeger Weiss LLP and James E. Cecchi ofCarella Byrne Cecchi Olstein Brody & Agnello PC.

The Navistar Defective Diesel Engines Class Action Lawsuits are Priority Towing Inc. v. Navistar Inc., Case No. 9:14-cv-81202, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, and Denis Gray Trucking Inc., et al. v. Navistar International Corporation, Case No. 1:14-cv-05249, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.