Legal Proceedings |
9 Months Ended |
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Sep. 30, 2023 | |
| Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract] | |
| Legal Proceedings | Legal Proceedings Lufthansa
One of the Company’s subsidiaries is involved in numerous patent infringement actions brought by Lufthansa Technik AG (“Lufthansa”) in Germany, the United Kingdom (“UK”) and France. The Company is vigorously defending all such litigation and proceedings. Additional information about these legal proceedings can be found in Note 19 “Legal Proceedings” in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022. On July 12, 2023, the Higher Regional Court of Karlsruhe in Germany (the “German Court”) reduced the Company’s liability for direct damages. Additionally, accrued interest on direct damages had previously been assessed at 5%. As part of the July 12, 2023 ruling, the German Court reduced that interest rate to 4%. Accordingly, the Company reclaimed overpaid damages and interest from Lufthansa in the amount of approximately $1.2 million. We recorded this gain in the third quarter of 2023 as an offset to Selling, General and Administrative Expenses upon receipt of the refund.
The reserve for the German indirect claim and interest was approximately $17.8 million on December 31, 2022 and $16.9 million on September 30, 2023. Accrued interest on the indirect damages reserve was estimated using the same interest rate as the direct damages. Given the reduction in the direct damages interest rate as discussed above, we recorded a reduction to the indirect damages reserve of $1.3 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2023, which was recorded as an offset to Selling, General and Administrative Expenses. The Company currently believes it is unlikely that the damages in the indirect proceedings and related interest will be paid within the next twelve months. Therefore, the liability related to these matters is classified within Other Liabilities (non-current) in the Consolidated Condensed Balance Sheets on September 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022.
In the matter before the UK High Court of Justice, as previously disclosed, Lufthansa has pleaded its case for monetary compensation, which will be determined at a separate trial, which is now set to take place in October 2024. Lufthansa has elected to pursue a claim in relation to the defendants’ profits from their infringing activities. We have estimated damages and accrued interest for AES and its indemnified customers of approximately $7.1 million and $7.0 million as of September 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022, respectively. This variance is due to currency fluctuation and interest accrued. Interest will accrue until the final payment to Lufthansa. This amount is subject to change as additional data is received and evaluated, and as additional information regarding the nature of its claim is put forward by Lufthansa in advance of the damages trial. The damages trial is scheduled to be heard starting in October 2024, with payment likely due in late 2024 or early 2025. The Company currently believes it is unlikely that the appeals process will be completed or the damages and related interest will be paid within the next twelve months. Therefore, the liability related to these matters is classified within Other Liabilities (non-current) in the Consolidated Condensed Balance Sheets on September 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022.
As previously disclosed, in 2020, Lufthansa filed a patent infringement action on December 29, 2017, before the Paris Court of First Instance. The Court held the French patent invalid for all asserted claims. There can consequently be no finding of infringement on first instance. Lufthansa has appealed this judgment. The appeal hearing took place on December 8, 2022, and on February 24, 2023, the Paris Court of Appeal upheld the first instance judgment in favor of AES. On March 20, 2023, Lufthansa lodged an appeal before the French Supreme Court. In September 2023, the French Supreme Court determined it will review the Paris Court of Appeal’s reasoning around the nullification of a certain claim of the subject patent. The Company’s brief supporting the decision of the Paris Court of Appeal is due on January 22, 2024. As loss exposure is not probable and estimable at this time, the Company has not recorded any liability with respect to the French matter as of September 30, 2023 or December 31, 2022.
There were no other significant developments in any of these matters during the nine months ended September 30, 2023.
A liability for reimbursement of Lufthansa’s legal expenses associated with the UK matter was approximately $0.7 million on September 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022, which is expected to be paid within the next twelve months and, as such, is
classified in Accrued Expenses and Other Current Liabilities in the accompanying Consolidated Condensed Balance Sheet as of September 30, 2023.
Other
On March 23, 2020, Teradyne, Inc. filed a complaint against the Company and its subsidiary, Astronics Test Systems (“ATS”) (together, “the Defendants”) in the United States District Court for the Central District of California alleging patent infringement of its digital instruments providing over-voltage detection and protection and copyright infringement of test equipment software, specifically emulating software using Teradyne’s declarations, and certain other related claims. The Defendants moved to dismiss certain claims from the case. On November 6, 2020, the Court dismissed the Company from the case, and also dismissed a number of claims, though the patent and copyright infringement claims remained. The case proceeded to discovery. In addition, on December 21, 2020, ATS filed a petition for inter partes review (“IPR”) with the US Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“PTAB”), seeking to invalidate the subject patent, and on July 21, 2021, the PTAB instituted IPR. ATS requested and, on August 26, 2021, the District Court granted, a stay of litigation during the IPR proceeding. Oral arguments on the IPR were held on April 21, 2022. The PTAB issued its decision on July 20, 2022, in which it invalidated all of Teradyne’s patent claims. Teradyne will not appeal the decision. The stay of litigation was lifted with respect to the remaining claims in August 2022. Discovery has been completed. On June 5, 2023, the parties attended a court-ordered mediation but did not reach a settlement. After the mediation, Teradyne agreed to drop its remaining state law claims in exchange for ATS dropping one of its defenses, leaving only its copyright claim. The parties are currently engaged in summary judgment briefing with a hearing on the motions scheduled for December 4, 2023. If the case is not disposed of on summary judgment, a trial will be held in 2024, though no trial date is currently set. No amounts have been accrued for this matter in the September 30, 2023, or December 31, 2022 financial statements, as loss exposure was neither probable nor estimable at such times.
Other than these proceedings, we are not party to any significant pending legal proceedings that management believes will result in a material adverse effect on our financial condition or results of operations.
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