San Diego suing over alleged fire truck manufacturer monopoly

SAN DIEGO, Calif. (KESQ) - The city of San Diego is suing a handful of companies it alleges took over the market for fire trucks, leading to exorbitantly inflated prices for the vehicles and their parts, the San Diego City Attorney's Office said.   

The complaint filed Wednesday in San Diego federal court alleges the defendants acquired a number of smaller fire truck manufacturers, eliminating competition and allowing the companies to overcharge the city by hundreds of thousands of dollars per unit.

The city also alleges the companies' control over the market for chassis and replacement parts has allowed it to charge sometimes as much as four times the fair-market cost for replacement components.

The lawsuit seeks civil penalties, damages and restitution for overcharges and other "financial injuries," and an injunction prohibiting additional alleged anticompetitive conduct.  

"Fire trucks aren't nice-to-haves -- they're essential equipment that every community depends on to save lives,'' San Diego City Attorney Heather Ferbert. "When corporations exploit that need and illegally corner the market, taxpayers and firefighters pay the price. At a time when every dollar matters, we're taking action to stop these practices, recover overcharges and protect our city's budget. These companies drove up costs, delayed deliveries for years, and forced cities into overpriced proprietary parts and equipment. This lawsuit seeks to stop these unlawful practices, restore competition and protect public-safety budgets statewide."  

The lawsuit comes a few weeks after a similar complaint was filed in federal court by San Diego County against the same companies. Defendants include REV Group, Oshkosh Corporation and its subsidiary Pierce Manufacturing, Boise Mobile Equipment and private-equity firm American Industrial Partners.