Rolls-Royce Accused Of Hiding Engine Defects

[ImperialWalker]

Rolls-Royce Accused Of Hiding Engine Defects

The British engine maker denies claims by two former employees that it concealed records of defects in a "secret set of books".

8:32am, Friday 05 July 2013

Rolls-Royce has rejected the claims and said the lawsuit is "without merit"

Two former Rolls-Royce employees have alleged the engine maker "cut corners on quality control requirements" and "lied to" customers.

Thomas McArtor and Keith Ramsey have also accused the company of hiding internal records of defects in engines it sold to commercial and military clients.

They claim that the company collated these alleged defects into a "secret set of books".

The ex-quality control officers in the United States are challenging a court order that prevents them from releasing information they say reveals potentially serious defects in its manufacturing processes, according to reports in The Financial Times and The Daily Telegraph.

Rolls-Royce has denied the claims and said the lawsuit is "without merit", adding that a US district judge had already thrown out two of the four claims before the "discovery" phase of the litigation had been entered.

"This lawsuit is entirely without merit," a Rolls-Royce spokesman said.

"Judge William T Lawrence did not find that Rolls-Royce engaged in any wrongdoing, failed to follow its quality system, concealed anything from the US government or even that a jury is entitled to hear the allegations.

"Rolls-Royce categorically rejects the other claims and will defend itself vigorously. Any and all facts of the case will be presented in court, where we are confident it will be found the lawsuit is without merit."

The lawsuit comes at a difficult time for the firm.

Last month an Australian safety regulator reported that Rolls-Royce had failed to identify a defect that caused one of its engines to explode on a Qantas Airways Ltd flight over Indonesia in November 2010.

In its final report on the incident, the Australian Safety Transport Bureau (ASTB) said the company missed multiple opportunities to detect a faulty component.

Rolls-Royce is also the subject of an investigation by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) into claims that company representatives paid bribes to win airline engine contracts in China and Indonesia.