Voiceman of the company that handles the settlement payouts to CAT ACERT engine owners has said it will be re-issuing the checks to former ACERT engine owners who were part of a $60 million settlement reached with Caterpillar in 2016.
According to the website established for members of the lawsuit, which include anyone who owned or leased a truck with a Caterpillar ACERT engine manufactured between 2006 and 2010, an error resulted in checks issued for the wrong amount.
Court documents indicate the checks shorted class members owed funds from the settlement. The website of the settlement says a stop payment has been issued for the checks and that the settlement administrator is “working to resolve this matter and promptly reissue settlement checks.”
A letter mailed to class members April 6 states that checks could be reissued within two weeks.
The $60 million settlement was reached in June 2016, after class-action lawsuits were filed against Caterpillar claiming its ACERT C13 and C15 engines were defective, and that the company was aware of this. The allegedly defective engines damaged trucking company operations and hurt trucks’ resale value, plaintiffs alleged, as well as drove up maintenance costs. The issues stemmed from Caterpillar’s exhaust gas recirculation system, Caterpillar Regeneration System, which was designed to meet 2007 federal emissions standards.
According to the 2016 settlement, class members who experienced no CRS repairs are eligible to receive $500 for each engine. Those who experienced between one and five CRS-related repairs are eligible to receive $5,000 per engine. Anyone who had six or more CRS-related repairs done to one of these engines is eligible for $10,000.