Legal Proceedings |
3 Months Ended |
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Mar. 30, 2024 | |
| 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, 2023.
The reserve for the German indirect claim and interest was approximately $17.2 million on March 30, 2024 and $17.1 million on December 31, 2023. 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 March 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023.
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. 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 $7.3 million and $7.4 million as of March 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023, 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 early 2025. Therefore, the liability related to these matters is classified within Accrued Expenses and Other Current Liabilities in the Consolidated Condensed Balance Sheets on March 30, 2024. The liability related to these matters was classified within Other Liabilities (non-current) on December 31, 2023.
As previously disclosed, on December 4, 2020, 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 Court upheld the first instance judgment in favor of AES. Lufthansa lodged an appeal before the French Supreme Court; the French Supreme Court will review the Court of Appeal of Paris reasoning around the nullification of one of the claims of the patent. AES filed a brief with the French Supreme Court on January 22, 2024 in response to Lufthansa’s appeal and awaits guidance on further briefing or a decision from the Court. 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 March 30, 2024 or December 31, 2023.
There were no other significant developments in any of these matters during the three months ended March 30, 2024.
A liability for reimbursement of Lufthansa’s legal expenses associated with the UK matter was approximately $0.7 million on March 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023, 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 March 30, 2024 and December 31, 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 and copyright infringement, 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. The PTAB issued its decision on July 20, 2022, in which it invalidated all of Teradyne’s patent claims. Teradyne did not appeal the decision. 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. On December 7, 2023, the District Court granted ATS’s motion for summary judgment on its affirmative defense of fair use. The Court subsequently entered final judgment in favor of ATS on December 14, 2023. Teradyne filed a Notice of Appeal to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on January 12, 2024. Teradyne’s opening brief on its appeal was filed on April 9, 2024 with ATS’s answering brief due on May 9, 2024, though that may be extended. No amounts have been accrued for this matter in the March 30, 2024, or December 31, 2023 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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