The lawsuit was filed by eight individuals in the 9th Judicial District Court, Rapides Parish, Louisiana, according to a document filed by Plug Power with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Donna Abbott-Vlahos
By Chelsea Diana – Reporter, Albany Business Review
Aug 31, 2018, 11:02am EDT Updated Aug 31, 2018, 2:16pm
Plug Power, the Latham, New York, fuel cell manufacturer, was named in a lawsuit against six companies following the May death of a Procter & Gamble employee who was riding a forklift powered by a Plug Power fuel cell.
The lawsuit was filed by eight individuals in the 9th Judicial District Court, Rapides Parish, Louisiana, according to a document filed by Plug Power with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
According to reports, William Allen Kendrick, 56, was operating a forklift at a Procter & Gamble plant in Pineville, Louisiana. At around 3:00 a.m. May 24, the forklift exploded and caught fire. The accident killed Kendrick. No one else was directly injured in the accident, a report said, though six people sought treatment for ringing ears or physical distress.
The lawsuit alleges claims against Plug Power and the five corporate co-defendants for defect in construction and composition, design defect, inadequate warning, breach of express warranty and negligence. It claims an unspecified amount of damages for wrongful death and personal injuries, among other damages.
Plug Power said in the 8-K filed on Thursday that it "intends to vigorously defend the litigation."
In that statement, Plug Power said it does not know what the outcome of the lawsuit will be. "However, the company does not expect the lawsuit to have a material impact on the company’s financial position, liquidity or results of operations, or to otherwise have a material adverse effect on the company," the statement says.
Plug Power (Nasdaq: PLUG) makes fuel cells used to power forklifts in warehouses and distribution centers. Fuel cells are seen as an alternative to lead-acid batteries. Plug has shipped more than 20,000 fuel cell units to dozens of customers including Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN), Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT) and Nike (NYSE: NKE).
Plug is one of the largest manufacturers in the area and is also one of the area's few public companies, employing more than 600 engineers, researchers and technologists.
Following the accident, Plug Power CEO Andy Marsh said in a statement on May 29 that the company was participating in an investigation led by Procter & Gamble to find what caused the accident.
"The Pineville plant utilizes equipment from multiple vendors. The Plug Power fuel cell unit is just one part of that larger system," Marsh said at the time. "We and other suppliers involved in the Procter and Gamble material handling system are actively contributing to the root cause investigation of this accident."
In a statement to the Albany Business Review Plug Power said: "The 8K is self-explanatory and is in line with our commitment to keep shareholders informed. Please note that the 8K states that we expect no material impact to our business."
Plug Power's stock was selling at $1.96 on Friday morning. The price is around what Plug has been selling at all year.