Waste Management, Inc., the largest U.S. trash hauling company, has filed suit against German company, SAP AG, for defective computer programs that SAP sold Waste Management; and for misrepresentation that the programs and software were supposed to be specially designed to manage tasks unique to U.S. waste hauling and recycling companies without required customization.

The software and computer programs were supposed to handle the company’s billing, container management, waste logistics and on-board computing tasks, according to Waste Management, and these were the representations it relied on when it selected SAP as the vendor for the implementation.

Waste Management filed its lawsuit based on claims that it paid SAP $100 million for a computer system that was supposed to help it operate more efficiently and save it money, but that instead it has been a total failure for its use. Waste Management also claims in its suit that the programs that were represented as being ‘unique to U.S. waste management companies’ were, in fact, untested, undeveloped and defective.  Waste Management is reportedly seeking reimbursement of all of its expenses as well as punitive damages.