Navistar re-files lawsuit against Ford for violating diesel engine contract

The suit, filed in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, seeks at least hundreds of millions of dollars. Navistar originally sued Ford alleging breach of the contract in June 2007. Cook County Circuit Court judge Dennis Burke dismissed that suit to allow for mediation of the dispute by a third-party. According to the lawsuit, Ford will introduce a 4.4-liter diesel engine for production in North America by late 2009 or 2010 or possibly earlier. Ford intends to produce the engine itself for use in the F-150, and possibly other vehicles. The lawsuit states that Ford cannot manufacture the engine without violating its contract with Navistar. Reportedly, Ford will produce the engines at a Ford facility in Chihuahua, Mexico. The lawsuit states that Navistar has spent millions of dollars and devoted years of its employees' time to develop a next generation diesel engine named 'Lion' for use in F-150 pickup trucks and other vehicles in which Ford had not previously offered diesel engines. Ford agreed that Navistar, which has been the exclusive diesel engine supplier for Ford's heavy-duty pickup trucks since 1979, would be the manufacturer and supplier of the new engines for the North American vehicle market.