French supplier sues Chrysler for $110M

Faurecia, a French company that supplies interior components for the Chrysler Sebring and PT Cruiser, Dodge Avenger and Nitro, and Jeep Liberty, has filed a breach of contract lawsuit in Michigan state court seeking $45 million in actual engineering and R&D costs and an additional $58 million in damages from Chrysler.

In the suit, Faurecia claims Chrysler did not fully reimburse it for engineering, R&D and other expenses associated with the development of the parts. Those upfront expenses were to be included as a surcharge in the selling price of each part. Faurecia claims Chrysler agreed to modify the amount of the surcharge if the volume of purchases changed significantly but did not follow through when deep cuts were made in production of the slow-selling Avenger, Nitro and Sebring.