A lawsuit filed by Clark forklifts against Japanese giant Toyota will finally get its day in court tomorrow.
The jury trial in the case of Clark Materials Handling Co. versus Toyota Material Halding USA Inc. (TMHU) is slated to begin Tuesday morning in front of US District Judge Max O. Cogburn, of the Western District of North Carolina, in Charlotte.
Clark first filed its lawsuit against THMU in August, 2012, charging that Toyota “pressured, coerced and intimidated” a Charlotte heavy equipment dealer to stop selling Clark equipment.
Specific Charges of the Lawsuit
In its lawsuit, Clark claimed that Toyota used unfair competition, tortious interference with contract, and tortious interference with prospective economic advantage when it allegedly coerced Southeast Industrial Equipment Inc (SIE) to stop offering Clark products to its customers. The suit also accuses Toyota of violating anti-unfair trade practice acts in both North and South Carolina.
In subsequent filings, attorneys representing Clark indicated that they will present 140 exhibits to support their case, including emails, letters, market shares, acquisition review documents and dealer performance reports. Toyota’s attorneys countered by listing 366 exhibits it will use in its defense,including emails, letters, dealer sales agreements, marketing plans and performance documentation.
Both Sides Stipulate the Facts
According to a stipulation of the facts filed jointly earlier this month, SIE has offered Toyota products to its customers in the Carolinas and Virgina since 1987. The dealership’s current non-exclusive agreement was initiated April 18, 2012, and is due to expire April 17 of this year. The document authorizes SIE to sell other forklift brands and the dealership currently offers Aisle-Master, Hoist and Comblift vehicles.
In January 2012, SIE started to consider adding Clark to its product offering and the dealership notified Toyota of its intention in April 2012, and began selling Clark forklifts in July of that year.
But the dealership abruptly announced that it was terminating its deal with Clark later that same month, citing a “perceived conflict with its current vendor” which was identified in court documents as Toyota.
Clark’s attorneys, led by Natalma McKew and Evan Margosian Sauda — charge that SIE was unfairly influenced by Toyota to dump its deal with Clark. Toyota is being represented in the case by attorney Paul Joseph Osowski.
TMHU is headquartered in Columbus, Indiana, but is owned by Toyota Industries Corp, of Kariya, Japan. Clark is based in Lexington, Kentucky, and is owned by Young An Hat Co. Ltd, of Bucheon, South Korea.
Toyota Has a Bigger Market Share
Both companies compete in the forklift trucks and parts market in the Southeastern US, but Toyota enjoys a substantially larger market share. Clark has only 2 to 3% of forklift market in that region. Toyota forklifts are sold by 67 dealers, and Clark’s vehicles are sold by 79 dealers.
Last month, Judge Cogburn denied Toyota’s motion to dismiss the case and ordered it to be heard by a federal jury.