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: Quote, Profile, Research) 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: Quote, Profile, Research), 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."