The Tennessee Supreme Court will hear an appeal in a case between Tennessee-based Milan Express and Navistar, the maker of International Trucks, over alleged defects in the company’s MaxxForce engine line.
In August 2019, an appellate court tossed a decision that required Navistar to pay Milan $30.8 million in damages to the fleet. Milan appealed the appellate court’s decision to the state’s highest court, which announced Jan. 16 it would hear the case.
Milan, a roughly 400-truck fleet, purchased 243 International ProStar tractors equipped with MaxxForce engines in 2011 and 2012. A jury in 2017 sided with Milan in the case, awarding the carrier $10.8 million for compensatory damages related to repairs for the engines and $20 million in punitive damages.
A judge recently approved Navistar’s proposed settlement of $135 million that will be paid out to owners of certain International trucks equipped with defective model year 2011-2014 MaxxForce 11- or 13-liter engines. As part of the class action settlement, owners of affected trucks can choose to receive up to $2,500 in cash, up to a $10,000 rebate on a new Navistar truck with proof of ownership/lease, or up to $15,000 in repayment for repair costs for each affected truck they owned or leased.
The Milan case has no bearing on the class action lawsuit.
