N&C Transportation Ltd. launched a class action against Navistar International Corp., Navistar Inc., Navistar Canada Inc. and Harbour International Trucks Ltd. over alleged defects in the companies’ heavy-duty tractor-trailer trucks.
N&C Transportation filed a notice of civil claim in BC Supreme Court on June 24. According to the claim, the defendant’s Navistar EGR Trucks, which utilize “exhaust gas recirculation” technology, were riddled with problems. The company moved more than 92,000 units in 2010 and had a market share of the “Class 8” truck market in Canada and the U.S. of 24%.
Defendants allegedly “knew that there were significant technical problems with EGR technology, including a buildup of soot in the diesel particulate filter that would cause engine failure, and that the EGR technology lowered fuel economy, decreased durability and increased cooling demands on the engine, all creating Navistar EGR Trucks that were dangerous and not suitable for their intended use,” the claim states.
Navistar stopped pursuing EGR technology in July 2012, the claim says.
N&C Transportation claims it bought 13 of the trucks between November 2010 and September 2011, and allegedly lost more than $4.4 million in revenue during the trucks’ downtime and spent nearly $300,000 on repairs.
The plaintiff seeks an order certifying the action as a class proceeding, an order to rescind the truck purchase agreements, and damages for breach of contract, negligent design and manufacture, breach of duty to warn, and negligent and/or fraudulent misrepresentations.
The allegations have not been tested in court and the defendants had not filed a response by press time.
