Fishman Haygood Files Lawsuits Against Fire Truck Manufacturers Over Alleged Price-Fixing Scheme

Fishman Haygood has filed cases on behalf of the cities of Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Monroe, New Orleans, and Shreveport, as well as the St. George Fire District, against manufacturers over an alleged scheme to artificially inflate the price of fire trucks in violation of Louisiana law. The lawsuits allege that major fire truck manufacturers, owned and operated by three defendant parent companies, conspired “to use their collective market power to suppress the fire truck supply and raise prices in Louisiana.”

Recent consolidation in the fire truck industry has eliminated geographic overlap, restricting competition between subsidiary and independent fire apparatus manufacturers and giving rise to dealer networks with exclusive control over vast territories. With growing market control in the hands of far fewer companies, the lawsuits allege that the defendants chose to cooperate rather than compete with one another by coordinating supply restrictions and orchestrating price hikes. This concerted collaboration left purchasers across Louisiana with little alternative but to pay exorbitant amounts of money for fire trucks. Further, waiting times for fire trucks have more than doubled, often taking as long as three to four years for delivery.

The defendants include Ferrara Fire Apparatus Inc. (a local Louisiana business operating out of Holden, Louisiana); Oshkosh Corporation; Pierce Manufacturing, Inc.; REV Group, Inc.; Rosenbauer America, LLC; and the Fire Apparatus Manufacturers Association. As detailed in the lawsuits, the defendants used data available only to FAMA members to control the market and ensure their co-conspirators adhered to the scheme.

The cities and fire district represented by Fishman Haygood seek both damages and injunctive relief. Plaintiffs hope to end the defendants’ price fixing and monopolistic practices in Louisiana.

The Fishman Haygood team is led by Partners Jim Swanson, John Bel Edwards, and Ian Atkinson, and Associate Julie Meaders.

The Shreveport-Bossier City Advocate and WBRZ most recently covered the lawsuits filed on behalf of the City of Shreveport and St. George Fire Department, respectively.

Learn more about Fishman Haygood’s Securities and Antitrust practice here.