Lordstown Motors Appoints Ninivaggi CEO
Proposed $42M Settlement Includes Removal of Takata Airbag Inflators in 1.35M Volkswagen and Audi Vehicles
Lordstown Motors Corporation announced Aug. 26 its Board of Directors appointed Daniel A. Ninivaggi as CEO and as a member of the board, effective immediately. Ninivaggi is the former CEO of Icahn Enterprises L.P., a diversified holding company controlled by Carl C. Icahn, and has served in a variety of senior leadership positions in the automotive and transportation industries. He began his automotive career at Lear Corporation, ultimately serving as executive vice president, where he was responsible for, among other functions, corporate development and strategy. He later held the positions of co-chairman and co-CEO of Federal Mogul Holdings Corporation, an $8 billion supplier of powertrain, chassis, sealing, brake and other automotive components, prior to its sale to Tenneco.
Plaintiffs in the Takata Airbag Product Liability Multidistrict Litigation on Sept. 1 filed a class action settlement agreement resolving claims against Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. and Audi of America, LLC, and its affiliates that will accelerate the removal of dangerous airbag inflators from approximately 1.35 million affected vehicles while also compensating consumers for their economic losses. The proposed $42 million settlement will provide numerous benefits to current and former owners and lessees of the affected vehicles, similar to agreements previously announced with Toyota, BMW, Mazda, Subaru, Nissan, Honda and Ford. The agreement was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, Miami Division, as part of the multidistrict litigation being overseen by Judge Federico A. Moreno. “We are pleased that after three years of hard-fought litigation we have reached a settlement with Volkswagen that will bring significant monetary and other relief to more than a million class members,” said Peter Prieto, court-appointed plain-
Source: Lordstown Motors
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tiffs’ chair lead counsel, who, along with other members of the plaintiffs’ leadership, negotiated the settlement on behalf of consumers. “This agreement will not only expand awareness of the Takata recalls and improve driver safety by accelerating the removal of defective airbags from our roads, but will provide compensation to affected VW and Audi consumers,” Prieto said. “We will continue to vigorously prosecute our claims against Mercedes Benz, General Motors and FCA to ensure that our clients obtain the relief they deserve.” Among the benefits provided for in the settlement is an outreach program overseen by an independent settlement special administrator that enhances and expands upon VW’s and Audi’s outreach efforts to significantly increase recall remedy completion rates. The program will regularly contact class members through direct mail, phone calls, email, internet ads and social media to educate them about the settlement and incentivize them to receive the recall remedy and exercise their rights under the settlement agreement.
The settlement also provides compensation to class members for their economic losses resulting from the recall in the form of reimbursement for reasonable out-of-pocket expenses, a possible residual distribution payment of up to $500, requirements to provide rental cars to class members while they wait for their recall remedies and the provision of a customer support program for repairs and adjustments on the replacement inflators, including an extended warranty. This settlement is subject to court approval. If preliminary approval is granted, class members will receive more information about the terms of the settlement. The benefits of the Enhanced Rental Car Loaner Program will be provided no later than the date of preliminary approval. When and if the court grants final approval, the claims process will open to eligible class members pending any appeals that are filed. Personal injury claims related to the Takata Airbag Litigation are not covered by this settlement. Source: Schwartz Media Strategies
PPG Provides Sales Update, Reports Worsening Supply Disruptions and Customer Parts Shortages PPG on Sept. 7 announced it expects sales volumes in the third quarter 2021 will be lower by $225 million to $275 million, compared to what the company anticipated at the start of the third quarter. PPG’s sales volumes are being impacted by the increasing disruptions in commodity supplies; further reductions in customer production due to certain parts shortages such as semi-conductor chips; and continuing logistics and transportation challenges in many regions, including the U.S., Europe and China. In addition, raw material inflation for the third quarter is trending higher than previously communicated by about $60 million to $70 million. The coatings commodity supply disruptions have further deteriorated since the company’s earnings announcement July 19, due to several additional force majeure declarations and lower material allocations from certain suppliers. The company also continues to assess the full impact of Hurricane Ida, which could include additional
supply chain effects. The company reported aggregate global economic demand remains robust, and inventories in many of the company’s end-use channels are at very low levels. When supply conditions normalize, the company continues to expect strong sales growth into 2022. In addition, the company reported it continues to make measurable progress implementing selling price increases to help offset the elevated raw material costs, and is seeking further increases. Overall price increases for the third quarter are estimated to be about 5% with similar contributions from both operating segments. Based on the uncertainty created by these continuing and evolving disruptions, the company has elected to withdraw previously communicated financial guidance for the third quarter and full-year 2021. Source: PPG
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