Aerotec-Honeywell

In September 2016, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed a March 2014 U.S. District Court decision, granting summary judgment to Defendant Honeywell International, Inc. (Honeywell) on antitrust claims brought by Aerotec International, Inc. (Aerotec). Aerotec is an independent provider of maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services for auxiliary power units (APUs) for aircraft; Honeywell is a leading manufacturer of APUs that also provides MRO services. Aerotec purchased APU parts from Honeywell with which to perform MRO services in competition with Honeywell and other MRO service providers. Aerotec made a variety of antitrust claims against Honeywell, including claims of exclusive dealing, tying, refusal to deal, price bundling and price squeezing. The District Court rejected each of Aerotec’s claims in granting summary judgment to Honeywell.

Compass Lexecon expert Professor Dennis Carlton filed an expert report in this case on behalf of Honeywell, showing that Aerotec’s claims were without merit and that Honeywell’s practices did not harm competition. Honeywell was represented by William Maledon, Brett Dunkelman, Joseph Roth and Eric Fraser of Osborn Maledon, P.A. and Richard Parker of O’Melveny & Myers LLP. The Compass Lexecon team supporting Professor Carlton included Elisabeth Landes, Gustavo Bamberger and Alice Kaminski.