DENVER (Legal Newsline) - A class action has been filed against Caterpillar Inc. after class members claim two of its heavy duty diesel engines are defective.
The plaintiff claims Caterpillar's 2007-2010 model C-13 and C-15 heavy duty diesel engines are also expensive to repair and replace.
K Double D Inc. claims not long after it purchased or leased vehicles with MY2007 CAT engines, and within the warranty period of its warranty and extended warranty, it began to experience numerous failures of the Caterpillar Regeneration System to operate effectively and reliably, according to a complaint filed June 24 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado.
"This caused plaintiff and class members to incur significant damages in the diminution of the value of their vehicles, but also in the cost of replacing the MY2007 CAT engines with other EPA 2007 Emission Standard compliant heavy duty, on-highway diesel engines," the complaint states.
The plaintiff's engine caused numerous faults in the operations of the CRS, which triggered warning, de-rating and shut-down, necessitating delivery of the vehicle to an authorized CAT repair facility for emissions warranty work, according to the suit.
The plaintiff claims from 2007 until 2010 Caterpillar designed the MY2007 CAT diesel engine to meet emissions standards issued by the Environmental Protection Agency in 2007.
The EPA standards "regulated both diesel vehicle/engine emissions standards and diesel fuel standards simultaneously, as a single system" and "sets not-to-exceed standards for Oxides of Nitrogen ('NOx'); Non-Methane Hydrocarbons ('NMHC'); Non-Methane Hydrocarbon Equivalent; Carbon Monoxide; and Particulate ('PM')," the complaint states.
To meet EPA standards, Caterpillar allegedly made the business decision to investigate, design, manufacture and sell for profit heavy-duty diesel engines that complied with all of the requirements of the 2007 EPA Emission Standard, according to the suit.
The plaintiff claims Caterpillar developed the CRS, however, "[c][/c]ontrary to the express expectation of the EPA Final Report for the use of DPF with precious metal catalysts, Caterpillar's CRS employs an un-catalyzed (without precious metal catalysts), or insufficiently catalyzed, Diesel Particulate Filter... which can only regenerate a small amount of soot trapped by the DFP, periodically requiring active regeneration to increase exhaust temperatures needed to burn off of the filter."
As a result of the defendant's actions, the plaintiff and class members have suffered substantial financial losses and other damages due to the defective engines, according to the suit.
Class members for the proposed class are all vehicle owners and lessees who purchased or leased a vehicle with a 2007, 2008, 2009 or 2010 Caterpillar C-13 or C-15 heavy duty on-highway diesel engine, according to the suit.
K Double D is seeking class certification, compensatory damages and pre- and post-judgment interest. It is represented by Richard J. Burke and Jamie E. Weiss of Complex Litigation Group LLC; Jonathan Shub of Seeger Weiss LLP; and Mitchell Baker.
The case has been assigned to District Judge Boyd N. Boland.
U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado case number: 1:14-cv-01760
From Legal Newsline: Kyla Asbury can be reached at classactions@legalnewsline.com.
Class action alleges Caterpillar made defective engines
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