A company with ties to Lordstown Motors Corporation has filed a lawsuit against the United States Postal Service over its decision regarding a multi-billion dollar vehicle contract.

Workhorse, a Cincinnati-based manufacturer of electric vehicles, hoped to land a 10-year contract with USPS to create a new generation of U.S.-built postal delivery vehicles.

However, back in February, the postal service awarded the contract to Oshkosh Defense in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Under the $6 billion contract, Oshkosh will assemble 50,000 to 165,000 of the vehicles over 10 years. 

The vehicles will be equipped with either fuel-efficient internal combustion engines or battery-electric powertrains and can be retrofitted to keep pace with advances in electric vehicle technologies.

In 2019, Workhorse signed a three-year intellectual property licensing agreement with Lordstown Motors regarding the Workhorse W-15 electric pickup truck in exchange for an initial equity stake of 10% in Lordstown Motors Corporation.

The former CEO of Lordstown Motors hoped to convince Workhorse to build those vehicles inside the Lordstown plant.