Los Angeles County is suing a private equity firm and corporate fire truck manufacturers for violation of antitrust and unfair competition laws stemming from years of acquisitions and mergers that have shrunk the market for new fire trucks, fire engines and equipment, massively jacking up prices, according to the county.
Costs have doubled in many instances, and merger activity of now fewer companies have delayed deliveries for needed parts and apparatus in an effort to increase prices, causing the fire department to wait longer to perform repairs on out-of-commission fire trucks and engines, according to claims in the lawsuit filed Feb. 12 by the L.A. County Office of County Counsel.
What the lawsuit calls monopolistic behavior has affected the timely acquisition of new fire trucks and fire engines by the department, at a time when heightened fire dangers from climate change — including the recent Palisades and Eaton fires that destroyed 18,000 properties and killed 31 residents — are spotlighting firefighting readiness in the county.
“These companies have driven up prices, delayed deliveries to unprecedented lengths, and forced our communities to shoulder the cost,” First District Supervisor and Board Chair Hilda Solis said. “Fire trucks are essential to protecting public safety, and we are taking action to hold these companies accountable, recover overcharges and ensure fair competition so taxpayers are never left paying more for the tools our first responders need.”
The county is suing a private equity firm, American Industrial Partners, and fire truck makers REV Group, Oshkosh Corp. and Boise Mobile Equipment for allegedly violating federal and state antitrust laws. The county, along with the state, is asking for an unwinding of these mergers and for restitution from higher prices L.A. County Fire and other departments claim were paid illegally.
“Our fire departments do not deserve this,” the lawsuit read. “Our firefighters do not deserve this. The taxpayers those firefighters swear an oath to protect do not deserve this. The extraction of excessive private rents from the public must stop.”
In a budget meeting with the Board of Supervisors on Feb. 17, L.A. County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone was asked about the lawsuit by Fifth District Supervisor Kathryn Barger.
Marrone said 22% of its fire vehicles need immediate replacement but that the suppliers have caused price hikes and delivery delays. The department has over 1,800 vehicles, he said.
“A fire engine with a pump and water used to cost about $600,000 and they are upward around $1.1 million,” he told Barger. “A hook-and-ladder truck used to be about $1 million and they are now up around $2.1 million.”
He also said that over the past five years, the delivery times for receiving fire equipment have doubled or tripled.
The lawsuit contends that Oshkosh engages in anticompetitive practices, namely, requiring customers of its subsidiary, Pierce Manufacturing, to purchase only Pierce proprietary parts even when the same products are available from competitors at much lower prices. This practice leads to significant overcharges for replacement parts, the lawsuit said.
“The L.A. County Fire Department has experienced dramatic price increases and long delays in receiving delivery of fire trucks,” Marrone said in a prepared statement. “These market conditions strain our budget and are a wasteful diversion of public funds needed to support our mission of protecting lives, environment and property.”
Marrone spoke to the Board of Supervisors about “revenue uncertainties” coming from property taxes that supply most of the department’s $1.8 billion budget. Higher prices for trucks and equipment only exacerbates its budget concerns and complicate readiness for upcoming events, such as the FIFA World Cup and the 2028 L.A. Summer Olympics.
“By bringing this lawsuit, we are sending a clear message that we will not tolerate practices that violate the antitrust laws, unfairly consolidate markets, and jack up prices for the tools we need to serve the public good,” said County Counsel Dawyn R. Harrison in a prepared statement.
Oshkosh and Boise Mobile Equipment did not respond when asked to comment on Thursday.
The County Counsel’s Affirmative Litigation and Consumer Protection Division will prosecute the civil case that was filed in United States District Court in Los Angeles.
“I am sure the taxpayers appreciate the fact that we are going to challenge this monopoly,” Barger said.
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