Ford loses appeal of $22.7 million judgment in supplier case, Michigan court rules
DETROIT — Software engineering supplier EnGenius Inc. of Livonia, Mich., will keep a $22.7 million judgment against longtime customer Ford Motor Co. after the Michigan Supreme Court last week tossed out the automaker’s appeal.
Starting in the 1990s, EnGenius was part of a team that helped maintain Ford’s end-of-line test system. The company was awarded the money in a January 2009 Wayne County court judgment, upholding a prior arbitration award.
In March, the state’s high court agreed to hear Ford’s appeal. But after reviewing legal briefs, it rescinded that decision and said last week that it was “no longer persuaded that the questions should be reviewed.”
At issue were two contracts between the automaker and EnGenius in 2000 involving comprehensive testing systems for Ford’s assembly plants. One contract was to provide continuing technical support for a testing system that EnGenius had developed for Ford in the 1990s, and the other was for a new system to replace it.
The automaker launched the new system at a plant in Wayne, Mich., in 2001 but held off on final approval of the system and allegedly failed to make payments on it even though EnGenius had spent more than $12 million on project development, according to court records.
The original award called for $14.4 million in damages for breach of contract, $1.2 million for lost profits and $1.9 million for tortious interference or intentional conduct that interferes with business relationships, plus about $5 million in pre-judgment interest.
Read more: http://www.autonews.com/article/20111128/OEM01/111129925