Pratt & Whitney settles antitrust lawsuit over engine sales

By Mike Scarcella

Dec 30 (Reuters) - RTX's RTX.N Pratt & Whitney Canada unit has settled a lawsuit that accused it of trying to block competition for sales of used regional aircraft engines and parts.

Universal Turbine Parts LLC said in a filing on Monday in federal court in Pennsylvania that a settlement was reached in its case against Pratt, the world’s largest maker of turboprop aircraft engines.

RTX and Universal Turbine Parts did not immediately respond to requests for comment or more information about the settlement. The lawsuit sought more than $150 million in damages.

The lawsuit, filed last year, alleged Pratt impeded sellers of parts from obtaining its used PT6 and PW100 engines to resell to regional aircraft operators and other buyers. Pratt denied wrongdoing.

Alabama-based Universal Turbine Parts supplies aftermarket aircraft engines and parts, and competes with Pratt.

The complaint said Pratt has produced more than 64,000 PT6 engines and 8,000 PW100 engines, calling them “the largest installed base of aircraft engines within the United States and the world.”

Universal Turbine Parts accused Pratt of violating U.S. antitrust law by barring its approved overhaul facilities from supplying engines and parts to independent sellers, constraining the market and leading to higher prices.

In seeking dismissal, Pratt called UTP “a private-equity owned middleman frustrated with its failures in the marketplace,” and argued that antitrust laws protect competition and consumers, not individual competitors.

The case is Universal Turbine Parts LLC v. Pratt & Whitney Canada Corp, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania, No. 2:24-cv-02021.

For Universal Turbine Parts: Robert Milne and Bryan Gant of White & Case; Daniel Brockett and Jeremy Anderson of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan; and Joseph Kohn of Kohn, Swift & Graf

For Pratt & Whitney: Ryan Shores and Heather Nyong’o of Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton; Karma Giulianelli of Bartlit Beck; and Paul Saint-Antoine of Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath