Another Lawsuit Targets Lycoming

An aggressive legal action has been filed against Lycoming Engines, Avco Corporation and Textron, Inc., by Jones Law Offices and Ralph C. Hardesty and Associates, claiming class action status for a pool of victims estimated at over 5000. The suit was filed "in response to the FAA airworthiness directive mandating the replacement of certain Lycoming crankshafts, a class action lawsuit was filed in the Circuit Court of Cook County seeking, among other things, entry of an order enjoining the defendants from denying the defective nature of the Lycoming crankshafts and requiring them recall the Lycoming crankshafts, and to pay all costs and expenses associated with replacing all such crankshafts."

Claiming that "the 'early retirement' program announced by Lycoming in February 2006, impacts over 5000 planes in the United States and is a direct result of Lycoming's defective design, manufacture and testing of its engines -- problems that Defendants have known about for years and which can lead to premature failure of the engine crankshafts causing power loss, engine failure, damage to the airplane, personal injury, and loss of life."

The suit also states that "the 'early retirement' program forces owners to pay for the replacement of the defective and unsafe Lycoming crankshafts ('Lycoming Crankshafts'), instead of issuing a recall whereby Lycoming would bear the costs of repair. Thus, Defendants have engaged in deceptive, unlawful and unfair conduct..."

The suit alleges that the Lycoming crankshaft issue is the result of "fundamental design defects caused by a series of cost cutting measures introduced by Lycoming in the mid-to-late 1990s." Attorney Jones and Hardesty add that "These cost-cutting measures altered the design of the engine and led to crankshaft failures and a series of prior recalls mandated by the Federal Aviation Administration ('FAA') and paid for by Lycoming. Defendants paid for these recalls, but now are trying to avoid paying Plaintiffs and the Plaintiff Classes for replacement of their defective products.

Engineers from Lycoming's and Avco Corporation's parent company, Textron, Inc., proposed various design changes to counteract the problems with the crankshaft redesign caused by the mid-to-late 1990s measures, but Lycoming's engineers refused to admit that their design was flawed and refused to change it in ways that would have avoided the present problems. Lycoming testing clearly showed that the redesigned crankshafts were defective. However, Lycoming hid the results of the tests and also tried to hide the fact that it had even conducted the tests themselves." 

The suit alleges extensive damages, referring to FAA and other documentation t support their claims, "The FAA Airworthiness Directive estimates that the cost of complying with SB 569A for all U.S. aircraft operators, for parts and labor only, at about sixty million ($60,000,000.00) dollars. Forcing "early retirement" of these Lycoming Crankshafts by February 2009 substantially diminishes the reasonably expected life of the engine for most aircraft operators. The Bulletin has also hurt resale value of the planes. Thus, Plaintiffs and the Plaintiff Classes will incur extensive damages for parts, labor, and other damages to comply with SB 569A, and will lose money when they sell or trade their aircraft."

The suit specifically revolves around five counts:

• COUNT I: Illinois Consumer Fraud Statute On Behalf of the Illinois Consumer Subclass
• COUNT II: Intentional Misrepresentation on Behalf of The Plaintiff Class
• COUNT III: Product Liability on Behalf of the Entire Class of Plaintiffs
• COUNT IV: Negligence on Behalf of the Plaintiff Class
• COUNT V: For Equitable Relief

ANN has calls in to the attorneys involved, as well as Lycoming, for comment and background. More info to follow...

FMI: www.joneslaw.org, www.textron.com