Legal Proceedings |
3 Months Ended |
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Apr. 03, 2021 | |
| 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, 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, 2020. There were no significant developments in any of these matters during the quarter ended April 3, 2021. The reserve for the German indirect claim was approximately $16.8 million at April 3, 2021, which included an additional $0.1 million in interest accrued during the quarter then ended. We currently believe it is unlikely that the appeals process will be completed and the damages and related interest will be paid within the next twelve months. Therefore, the liability related to this matter is classified within Other Liabilities (non-current) in the Consolidated Condensed Balance Sheets at April 3, 2021 and December 31, 2020.
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 remain. The case is currently in discovery. In addition, on December 21, 2020, ATS filed a petition with the US Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“PTAB”), seeking to invalidate the subject patent. The parties are waiting to learn whether the PTAB will institute the proceeding. The District Court scheduled a claims construction hearing on the patent for June 2021. Fact discovery has begun on both the patent and copyright claims. We will not have a trial date until 2022 at the earliest. No amounts have been accrued for this matter in the April 3, 2021 financial statements, as loss exposure is neither probable nor estimable at this time.
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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