U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap in Texas ordered Trinity Industries to pay $663.4 million after a federal jury found it liable for failing to tell a government highway agency about changes made to a guardrail system that raised safety concerns.
Article continues below
In October 2014, a jury awarded $175 million in damages in this case which alleged certain violations of the Act. Under the Act, the award is automatically trebled to $525 million.
In addition, the District Court imposed civil penalties in the amount of $138.4 million and awarded attorney’s fees, expenses and costs to the relator in the amount of $19 million.
The amount of the total judgment is $682.4 million. To appeal the case, the company may be required to post a supersedeas bond that could equal the amount of the judgment entered plus interest, which the company expects to obtain on an unsecured basis.
The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Marshall Division, has entered judgment in the federal False Claims Act) case filed against the company by Joshua Harman involving the ET Plus System.
Trinity Highway Products manufactures the ET Plus pursuant to exclusive licensing granted by the Texas A&M University System. The judgment was expected after post-verdict, court-ordered mediation failed to resolve the numerous legal issues involved.
The company believes the evidence clearly shows that no fraud was committed. Trinity also believes that the trial court made significant errors in applying the federal law to Mr. Harman’s allegations and, therefore, the judgment is erroneous and should be reversed in its entirety. Trinity intends to file certain post-judgment motions and to appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
"The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has repeatedly confirmed that the ET Plus is fully compliant with all applicable federal safety regulations—and that the ET Plus is and has always been eligible for reimbursement under the Federal-aid highway program.
"In a Mandamus Order preceding the second trial in this case, the Fifth Circuit made clear that it had concerns with the trial court proceedings, and that the company has a 'strong' legal argument that it has made no false claims to the United States government, based on previous statements by the FHWA that the ET Plus is compliant with federal safety standards and therefore fully eligible, in the past, present and future, for federal reimbursement claims.
"After the trial, in December 2014 and January 2015, the ET Plus was again tested and again passed the applicable safety standard, the National Cooperative Highway Research Program Report 350 testing criteria, in eight additional independent crash tests by the Southwest Research Institute.
"The FHWA, in consultation with its independent consulting expert, confirmed that the ET Plus passed the Report 350 criteria for all eight crash tests. The ET Plus has been successfully crash tested more times than any other highway product of its kind," the company said. ■