ATLANTA -

In the latest development in a legal clash that’s been going on for close to two years, dealers from five states filed a lawsuit against Indian truck manufacturer Mahindra & Mahindra and its U.S. counterpart accusing fraud, misrepresentation and conspiracy.

The lawsuit alleges Mahindra duped hundreds of U.S. dealers and walked away with more than $60 million in cash and trade secrets. Then Mahindra simply reneged on its promises, according to attorney Michael Diaz, the managing partner of Miami-based Diaz Reus & Targ, who leads the plaintiffs’ legal team of Gary Davidson, Brant Hadaway, Carlos Gonzalez and Sumeet Chugani.

“Mahindra told the dealers that its light trucks and SUVs were ready for delivery to the U.S. market,” Diaz said. “However, Mahindra intentionally delayed certification of its vehicles after obtaining the dealership fees and trade secrets, and began pursuing other partners in the U.S. and elsewhere in clear violation of their commitments.”       

The mass tort lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Atlanta by dealerships in New Hampshire, Florida, California, New Jersey and Washington.

According to the lawsuit, dealers across the country paid initial dealership fees, undertook marketing on Mahindra’s behalf, built Mahindra showrooms, display platforms and showcases, and hired additional personnel — all at Mahindra’s urging.           

“Through their false representations, the defendants lured the U.S. dealers into making investments and promoting Mahindra’s brand name,” Diaz said. “Mahindra is going to learn that trying to outsmart the dealers was a serious mistake, as we will aggressively seek justice for our clients.”

In response to the latest legal development, Mahindra issued a statement vehemently denying any wrongdoing.

“We have seen the press release issued by the legal firm of Diaz Reus and Targ which claims to represent some U.S. automobile dealers in a suit apparently filed on June 4 in the U.S. District Court in Atlanta, Ga.,  against Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. and Mahindra USA Inc.,” officials responded.

“We cannot comment on this as the matter is in the courts but we would like to state that some dealers had earlier filed a suit against Mahindra and Global Vehicles in the U.S. District Court in Missouri,” they continued. “The Missouri Court dismissed all claims against Mahindra in that suit. Significantly, the Missouri Court also ruled that Mahindra could not be held liable for any action of Global Vehicles with respect to its dealers.

“In a separate related development, an International Arbitral tribunal has in February dismissed similar allegations and claims against Mahindra made by Global Vehicles. Mahindra is in the process of enforcing that arbitration award,” company officials went on to say.

“Mahindra unequivocally denies all allegations of fraud, misrepresentation and conspiracy,” they added.

Auto Remarketing published more details about the case from the Missouri court here.