Wabash National Corporation
09/06/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 09/06/2024 04:17
Material Event Form 8 K
Item 8.01. Other Events.
As previously disclosed in Wabash National Corporation's (the "Company") filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Company is and has been, and may in the future be, subject to product liability claims and litigation incidental to the Company's normal operating activities. The Company has routinely defended lawsuits of this nature and considers this litigation to be in the ordinary course of business.
On September 5, 2024, a jury awarded compensatory damages of $12 million and punitive damages of $450 million (the "Award") against the Company in a lawsuit in which the Company was named as a co-defendant filed in the Circuit Court of the City of St. Louis, Missouri (the "Product Liability Matter"). The case related to a vehicle accident that resulted in two fatalities following a rear-end collision by a passenger vehicle with a tractor-trailer owned and operated by co-defendant GDS Express Inc. The Company believes that the compensatory damages will be covered by the Company's insurance policies.
The Company believes the verdict is not supported by the facts or the law. Among other things, and despite precedent to the contrary, the jury was prevented from hearing critical evidence in the case, including that the driver's blood alcohol level was over the legal limit at the time of the accident. The fact that neither the driver nor his passenger was wearing a seatbelt was also kept from the jury, even though plaintiffs argued both would have survived a 55-mile-per-hour collision had the vehicle not broken through the trailer's rear impact guard.
There will be post-judgment proceedings before the court enters a final judgment, and the Company will be evaluating all available legal options.
The ultimate outcome of the Product Liability Matter cannot be predicted with any certainty and the Award could materially and adversely affect the Company's financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Forward-Looking Statements
This Current Report on Form 8-K ("Current Report") contains certain forward-looking statements as defined by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements convey the Company's current expectations or forecasts of future events. All statements contained in this Current Report other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements include, among other things, all statements regarding the litigation described above, expectations regarding insurance coverage, the Company's assessment of litigation and any actions the Company may take in response to the jury's findings and trial court's judgment, including post-trial motions and appeals, and the impact of litigation on the Company's business and financial condition. These and the Company's other forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those implied by the forward-looking statements. Without limitation, these risks and uncertainties includeoutcomes with respect to the Product Liability Matter and the Award, the highly cyclical nature of our business, uncertain economic conditions including the possibility that customer demand may not meet our expectations, our backlog may not reflect future sales of our products, increased competition, reliance on certain customers and corporate partnerships, risks of customer pick-up delays, shortages and costs of raw materials including the impact of tariffs or other international trade developments, risks in implementing and sustaining improvements in the Company's manufacturing operations and cost containment, dependence on industry trends and timing, supplier constraints, labor costs and availability, customer acceptance of and reactions to pricing changes, costs of indebtedness, and our ability to execute on our long-term strategic plan. Readers should review and consider the various disclosures made by the Company in this Current Report and in the Company's reports to its stockholders and periodic reports on Forms 10-K and 10-Q.