Arch Personal Care Products Denied Preliminary Injunction Against Active Concepts.

Business Editors

SOUTH PLAINFIELD, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 29, 2002

Active Concepts, LLC announced today that it successfully beat back an attempt by Arch Personal Care, L.P. to obtain a preliminary injunction which would have effectively barred Active from competing with Arch in the personal care industry.

Citing Arch's failure to establish any basis for issuing an injunction, and the likelihood that Arch will not prevail on any of its claims, Superior Court Judge Joseph Messina, sitting in New Brunswick, signed an Order (Jan 22, Docket #MID-C-193-01) denying Arch any of the restrictions it requested against Active and six employees, one of whom Arch sought to permanently bar from working in the industry.

Active Concepts and the employees voluntarily agreed, at the beginning of the case, to comply only with the common law requirements not to disclose Arch's confidential information, and have always maintained that they did not violate that promise. Active's counsel noted Judge Messina agreed that no violations had been shown by Arch. Despite furiously examining every aspect of Active Concepts' business over the past four months, and taking the depositions of every defendant, Arch could produce no facts to support its request for a preliminary injunction. Active Concepts took the depositions of only three of Arch's employees and presented that testimony to show that Arch had no facts to support any of its claims and that Arch had created false accusations against Active Concepts and its employees.

The court refused to expand the voluntary pledge by Active and the employees. Judge Messina found that Active Concepts was legitimately doing business and questioned whether Arch was attempting to use the Court to prevent fair competition.

Durant Scholz, Active's President, speaking from his office in South Plainfield, NJ, expressed relief that this portion of the dispute, initiated by Arch Personal Care in August, 2001, was resolved in favor of Active. "We have never doubted that we would be successful in this litigation. We were confident that the Court would see this as simply an effort by a large conglomerate to stifle the competition provided by an energetic new company", said Scholz. "It was obvious from the start that Arch is motivated by a fear of Active as a competitor due to our ability to adjust quickly to changing demand in the industry. We will continue to develop and provide ingredients for the cosmetics industry that are novel, cost effective and based on the latest technology."