Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Legal Proceedings

v3.22.1
Legal Proceedings
3 Months Ended
Apr. 02, 2022
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, 2021. The reserve for the German indirect claim and UK damages and interest was approximately $24.8 million at April 2, 2022, which included an additional $0.2 million in interest accrued during the three months then ended. We currently believe 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 at April 2, 2022 and December 31, 2021. There were no other significant developments in any of these matters during the three months ended April 2, 2022.
At December 31, 2021, we had recorded a liability of $1.0 million for reimbursement of Lufthansa’s legal expenses associated with the UK matter. During the quarter ended April 2, 2022, $0.2 million was paid. The remaining liability of $0.8 million 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 April 2, 2022.
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 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 and a final written decision is expected by July 2022. No amounts have been accrued for this matter in the April 2, 2022 or December 31, 2021 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.