February 12, 2026
LA County is suing private equity firm American Industrial Partners and fire truck manufacturers REV Group, Oshkosh Corporation and Boise Mobile Equipment under federal and state antitrust and unfair competition laws for consolidating the fire truck market through a series of anticompetitive mergers, acquisitions and other unfair practices. This behavior sharply inflated the cost of fire trucks and parts to fire departments nationwide, including the LA County Fire Department.
“Los Angeles County will not allow companies to exploit the fire truck market at taxpayers’ expense,” said Los Angeles County Board Chair and First District Supervisor Hilda L. Solis. “These companies have driven up prices, delayed deliveries to unprecedented lengths, and forced our communities to shoulder the cost. Fire trucks are essential to protecting public safety, and we are taking action to hold these companies accountable, recover overcharges, and ensure fair competition so taxpayers are never left paying more for the tools our first responders need.”
The defendants’ acquisition and merger activity has dramatically reduced options in the marketplace and, consequently, reduced the supply of fire trucks, prolonged delivery times, and triggered massive price increases. As these companies raised their prices, their executives boasted that their “backlog for fire apparatus has tripled, growing by over $1 billion,” and that their “backlog is at an all-time high.”
Oshkosh engages in the further anticompetitive practice of requiring customers of its subsidiary, Pierce Manufacturing, to purchase only Pierce proprietary parts despite cheaper pricing available from competitors. This practice leads to significant overcharges for replacement parts.
“The LA County Fire Department has experienced dramatic price increases and long delays in receiving delivery of fire trucks,” said LA County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone. “These market conditions strain our budget and are a wasteful diversion of public funds needed to support our mission of protecting lives, environment and property.”
The lawsuit seeks treble damages for these overcharges, restitution, civil penalties, and injunctive relief in the form of an order requiring unwinding of the anticompetitive mergers and acquisitions. It was filed by County Counsel Dawyn R. Harrison on behalf of the County, the County Fire Department, and the People of the State of California.
“My office will not allow corporate profiteers to create an unfair marketplace and line their pockets at the expense of taxpayers and public safety,” Harrison said. “By bringing this lawsuit, we are sending a clear message that we will not tolerate practices that violate the antitrust laws, unfairly consolidate markets, and jack up prices for the tools we need to serve the public good.”
County Counsel’s Affirmative Litigation and Consumer Protection Division will prosecute the civil case filed in United States District Court in Los Angeles.
A copy of the complaint is available here: link
LA County Contact: Scott Kuhn, Assistant County Counsel, skuhn@counsel.lacounty.gov or 323-719-9606.
For more information on County Counsel’s Affirmative Litigation and Consumer Protection Division, please visit: https://counsel.lacounty.gov/alcp/.
