Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation has filed a counter suit against Bombardier claiming it has engaged in anti-competitive behaviour to impede the Japanese group’s MRJ programme.
The company stated: “It is our company position that for several years Bombardier has engaged in a multifaceted scheme of illegal anticompetitive conduct, directed against Mitsubishi, its partners and its employees. As alleged in the counterclaim filing, since late 2015 Bombardier has threatened, pressured and sought to coerce Mitsubishi Aircraft, its US-based partners, and individual employees working on the MRJ program. The filings also detail how when Mitsubishi Aircraft refused to accede to Bombardier’s demands, Bombardier filed the present lawsuit.
While these threats and the lawsuit purportedly relate to allegations of trade secret misappropriation, our position is that Bombardier’s allegations of misappropriation lack factual or legal merit. Rather, we believe these threats and the present litigation constitute an effort by Bombardier to impede the progress of the development of the MRJ and ultimately, to delay the MRJ from entering the market.
Mitsubishi Aircraft is confident that it will ultimately prevail in defending itself from Bombardier’s unwarranted allegations, and that Bombardier’s actions will not adversely impact the development and entry into service of the MRJ or the success of the MRJ program.”
Bombardier has not yet made any public statement.
In October 2018, Bombardier launched the original lawsuit that claimed former employees passing along trade secrets to aid Mitsubishi’s MRJ programme. The Canadian manufacturer claimed that Mitsubishi’s aircraft unit and its US partner AeroTEC had hired at least 92 employees from Bombardier, which accused several of those former employees of misappropriating confidential documents and data.