Judge declines to dismiss $6.5M Andy Mohr jury award

A federal judge in Indianapolis has refused to dismiss a $6.5 million jury verdict awarded to Andy Mohr Truck Center in its long-running dispute with Volvo Trucks North America.

Judge William T. Lawrence on Tuesday denied Volvo’s motion arguing that the evidence presented at trial was so flawed that “no reasonable jury could award damages.”

The businesses had been battling in court since 2012, when Volvo sued, charging Andy Mohr reneged on its commitment to build a new dealership facility, buy $1 million in Volvo parts and achieve the anticipated market gains.

But Andy Mohr countersued, charging Volvo failed to live up to a promise to award it the Mack Trucks franchise, which it also controlled, and also failed to provide the same price discounts on Volvo Trucks that it offered to similar franchisees elsewhere.

Andy Mohr cited 13 instances in which the price discrimination caused it to miss out on large fleet purchases by customers. As a result, Mohr Truck lost more than 1,300 new truck sales between late 2010 and 2012, and millions of dollars in profits, Andy Mohr alleged in court documents.

In August, the jury sided with Andy Mohr on its claims that Volvo violated the Indiana Deceptive Franchise Practices Act for price discrimination and slapped Volvo with the $6.5 million judgment.

Volvo argued in its motion to dismiss the verdict that Andy Mohr “cherry-picked” price comparisons with other dealers and manipulated data.

“If the data showed anything, it showed that [Andy Mohr] was treated like other dealers, receiving higher concessions than many dealers on many occasions,” Volvo wrote. “No rational jury could infer price discrimination from this evidence.”

Judge Lawrence disagreed, writing that “the court has addressed the issues raised by the defendant and stands by its previous rulings.”

The judge previously had dismissed Volvo’s claims against Andy Mohr.