Caterpillar Inc. (CAT), based in Peoria, IL, designs, manufactures and, distributes machinery and engines. According to a Wall Street Journal article, on June 12, CAT faces at least 15 lawsuits concerning engines sold between 2006 and 2010. These engines were allegedly susceptible to frequent breakdowns and some instances of engine fires.
The engines, used for school buses, charter buses, trucks and ships, failed to operate properly due to issues in the design of the emission-control systems.
In the 1990s, CAT had success in designing engines for bulldozers that reduced pollution to meet standard set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In the 2000s, CAT developed Advanced Combustion Emissions Reduction Technology (ACERT), an exhaust-treatment system that features a filter to trap exhaust soot, which is regenerated into usable fuel. ACERT reduced pollutants successfully for off-highway equipment. When ACERT was converted for highway vehicles, the system malfunctions for long trips, causing engine failure.
In a statement, a CAT spokeswoman said, “Caterperillar Inc. is addressing various claims relating to alleged performance issues” with engines designed to abide by emission-control standards put in place by the EPA in 2007.
No reports of injury have occurred as a result of the engine fires, but plaintiffs have had passengers stranded for long periods of time until alternative transport could arrive.
CAT reached an agreement with plaintiffs in Mobile, AL to pay $46 million to settle claims about a ship that was destroyed by an engine fire. CAT paid $900,000 to the Northside Independent School District in San Antonio, TX for malfunctioning school bus engines with two reports of engine fires.
CAT ceased selling truck and bus engines four years ago due to inability to meet rising costs to meet the increasingly rigid demands of EPA standards. It is not yet clear how much more they will have to pay in further pending litigations.
Photo: CAT logo /Courtesy Photo
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