AIRSHOW-French bailiff surprises Bell at Paris air show

By Andrea Shalal-Esa

PARIS, June 17 (Reuters) - A transatlantic helicopter row flared up at the Paris Air Show when Bell Helicopter said on Wednesday that a French bailiff had staged a surprise visit to its stand demanding documents on its new Bell 429 helicopter.

A spokesman for the Textron Inc (TXT.N) unit said the bailiff had served a summons linked to a case filed by rival Eurocopter in a Canadian court last year, alleging infringement of a patent for a type of landing gear, a claim Bell denies.

Eurocopter, a subsidiary of European aerospace group EADS (EAD.PA), said it had no immediate comment on the reported incident. EADS was not available for comment.

The bailiff, whose name was supplied by Bell, was unavailable for comment. A person answering his telephone said he was on an outside visit.

Eurocopter sued Bell's Canadian unit in May last year claiming patent abuse and seeking C$25 million compensation for over 250 Bell 429 model helicopters which it said had been built using a patented Eurocopter design, according to court filings.

Bell spokesman Joe LaMarce said the bailiff, accompanied by two patent lawyers, had arrived at the sprawling helicopter display early on Tuesday, bearing a legal document that had to be translated into English before the company could comply.

LaMarca said the incident forced the company to delay or reschedule several helicopter demonstration flights for potential customers, and required the removal of some panels from the underside of the twin-engined mid-sized helicopter.

"They significantly impeded our ability to conduct business, which is why we're here," said LaMarca, adding, "They could have asked to photograph the skids at a time that was less disruptive to our customers."

Bell and Eurocopter are locked in a battle for orders, and the world's largest air show is a showcase for latest civil and military hardware on the market.

The incident comes at a time of simmering trade friction between the United States and Europe over mutual claims of illegal subsidies for Boeing and Airbus plane development.

U.S. lawmakers this week criticised tentative funding plans for the next generation of Airbus aircraft that were unveiled at the Paris Air Show.

Bell denies any wrongdoing in the patent case, but LaMarca said the company decided to use a different skid after the suit was filed to avoid any delays on the program.

LaMarca said Bell complied with the summons after waking up its company attorneys in Texas. The bailiff's team took photographs of a mock-up of the new 429 model and spent hours at the booth reviewing technical manuals, maintenance records and other publications data, he said.

Bell expects the new helicopter to be certified by the end of the month, which will allow the company to start booking orders for the twin-helicopter, being marketed for use by corporations, law enforcement and emergency medical service.

The incident followed a last-minute decision by Washington to withdraw its latest-generation F-22 fighter jet from the Paris air show, a decision that according to some European industry executives might have sparked by concerns over whether the stealth plane would be exposed to radar scanning. (Reporting by Andrea Shalal-Esa, Edited by Tim Hepher, Geert De Clercq and Elaine Hardcastle)