By Rudy Miller
The Express-Times
ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Allentown has joined a growing list of cities suing a private equity firm, its subsidiaries and a select few fire truck manufacturers for creating a monopoly on custom fire trucks and chassis.
The lawsuit filed Wednesday in federal court accuses American Industrial Partners of buying up struggling fire truck makers and eliminating competitors to create a monopoly.
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“AIP disagrees with the allegations in the complaint and intends to defend itself vigorously,” said a spokesperson for the private equity firm based in New York City.
The suit accuses truck makers of price gouging, consolidating operations, closing plants and creating a backlog for the manufacture of the custom fire apparatus.
“Our fire departments do not deserve this,” the suit says. “The taxpayers those firefighters swear an oath to protect do not deserve this.”
Los Angeles sued American Industrial Partners in February, according to a news release. So did Milwaukee, a published report says. San Diego and Portland, Oregon, sued earlier this month, according to published reports.
The International Association of Fire Fighters and the American Economic Liberties Project issued a joint statement last year calling for a federal investigation.
“We cannot allow Wall Street interests to put profits over public safety,” said IAFF President Edward Kelly in the statement. Three companies, including one controlled by American Industrial Partners, control two-thirds of the market, according to the statement.
“This consolidation is textbook monopolization — leading to price gouging, plant closures, and years-long delivery backlogs that put communities in danger,” American Economic Liberties Project Executive Director Nidhi Hegde said in the statement.
Allentown’s lawsuit says it purchased a custom aerial fire truck for $1.46 million in 2021. By 2023, the same truck cost $2 million, the suit says. The cost of a pumper went from $780,000 to more than $900,000 in four years, the suit says.
It took 400 days for the city to get the aerial it bought in 2021. The pumper purchased in 2024 had an estimated 1,100-day waiting period.
“In just over three years, the delivery window nearly tripled,” the suit says.
The lawsuit asks a judge to break up the monopoly and award unspecified damages to the City of Allentown.
The Allentown lawsuit was filed by Philadelphia attorney Jerry R. DeSiderato. He will be joined in the lawsuit by Los Angeles attorney Catherine S. Simonsen and San Diego attorney John P. Fiske.
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