This MSB comes on the heels of Lycoming’s loss of a lawsuit sought by Interstate Forging in Navasota, Texas, alleging that Lycoming had improperly specified vanadium to be added to the crank alloy. Lycoming claimed that Interstate had improperly manufactured the cranks and that the addition of vanadium was not at fault. The jury verdict awarded Interstate $96 million. Lycoming has appealed the decision. Marty Rose, an attorney who defended Interstate in Texas, offered comments on Lycoming’s latest move. “Seems rather obvious that they learned a lesson from our jury verdict in Texas because the jury found the problem was the vanadium,” he said. “And now they’re pulling all the crankshafts that they had manufactured with vanadium added.” Rose added, “The four-cylinder crankshafts are forged on a press not a hammer. So all the supposed nonsense about bad practices [from Interstate] doesn’t apply to the four-cylinder cranks.”
…Legal Battle Ongoing…
Key Takeaways:
- Lycoming lost a $96 million lawsuit to Interstate Forging, where a jury found Lycoming improperly specified vanadium in a crank alloy, rather than Interstate's manufacturing practices being at fault.
- Following the verdict, Lycoming is reportedly recalling all crankshafts manufactured with vanadium added, a move seen by Interstate's attorney as an acknowledgment of the jury's finding.
- The attorney also noted that allegations of "bad practices" against Interstate do not apply to four-cylinder crankshafts due to their different manufacturing process (forged on a press, not a hammer).
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