Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHVYF.PK) and Mitsubishi Power Systems Americas, Inc. announced last week that the U.S. District Court’s Western District of Arkansas decided the companies can continue with their lawsuit against GE (NYSE: GE).
The court denied a motion by General Electric Company (GE) to dismiss Mitsubishi’s litigation that charges GE with seeking to monopolize the market for variable speed wind turbines in the United States.
"The judge’s denial of GE’s motion will ensure that a judge will hear the facts of a case that describes how GE seeks to monopolize the market for variable speed wind turbines in the United States," Mitsubishi Power Systems Americas spokeswoman, Sonia Williams, said. "The judge did decide to stay discovery for the present. Nevertheless, we are heartened by his suggestion that he may terminate the stay if he finds appropriate circumstances."
In the complaint filed in the U.S. District Court’s Western District of Arkansas this summer, Mitsubishi alleges that after Mitsubishi gained a foothold in the United States market in 2006, GE embarked on an unlawful anticompetitive scheme to drive Mitsubishi suppliers out of the U.S. market.
Mitsubishi has signed a development agreement with the State of Arkansas to construct and operate a wind turbine manufacturing plant in Fort Smith, Arkansas, on 100 acres of land formerly part of Fort Chaffee. Mitsubishi is expected to invest well over $100 million dollars in this project.
The stay on discovery is expected to remain until a patent infringement lawsuit is resolved. Mitsubishi filed that suit against GE in May–at the same time as filing the anticompetitive litigation.
The patent suit is filed in Florida and it charges GE with infringing a key Mitsubishi patent for variable speed wind turbines, alleging that GE has been making, using, selling and offering to sell infringing turbines without any authorization or license to do so.
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