Armor All Goes to Court Asking That Details Of Product Safety Research Be Kept Secret.RANCHO CUCAMONGA Rancho Cucamonga (răn`chō k  'kəmäng`gə), city (1990 pop. 101,409), San Bernardino co., S Calif. , Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 1, 1995--In an unusual turn of events, Armor All Products Corp. has gone to court to try to keep secret the details of an employee's lawsuit, which alleges that he was fired so he would have no further access to research data indicating that the company's products may cause tires and air bag covers to crack. The company's suit demanding secrecy and damages was filed last week in connection with a lawsuit originally filed last November in San Bernardino San Bernardino, city, United States San Bernardino (săn bûr'nədē`nō), city (1990 pop. 164,164), seat of San Bernardino co., S Calif., at the foot of the San Bernardino Mts.; inc. 1854. County Superior Court against Armor All by Pritam S. Dhaliwal. Dhaliwal, who holds a Ph.D. in chemistry, was in charge of Armor All's research facility in Aliso Viejo, Orange County, for 18 months before he received a termination notice on Dec. 2, 1993. According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Dhaliwal's answer to the lawsuit, tests showed that tires treated with Armor All products cracked from ozone exposure and delaminated down to the cord after as little as 17,000 miles, while untreated tires showed very slight cracking and no delamination delamination /de·lam·i·na·tion/ (de-lam?i-na´shun) separation into layers, as of the blastoderm. de·lam·i·na·tion n. 1. A splitting or separation into layers. 2. . In addition, he alleges that similar results were reported in tests conducted by several independent laboratories, including the U.S. Marine Corps Logistics Base at Barstow, which was investigating ways to prolong the life of tires in the desert. Court documents say other tests showed that use of Armor All products could increase braking distance brak·ing distance n. The distance required for a vehicle moving at a specified velocity to come to a complete stop after its brakes have been activated. and, when used to polish dashboards, diminished visibility by increasing the glare on windshields. Each time that Dhaliwal reported these results, the lawsuit says, his superiors not only refused to meet with him but eventually ordered him to destroy the test tires and all correspondence and reports. Armor All charges Dhaliwal with violating a confidentiality agreement requiring him not to reveal trade secrets and accusing him of illegally possessing test tires and laboratory reports. Last week it asked that all documents related to this lawsuit be kept confidential, even from state and federal authorities. "My client is between the proverbial rock and a hard place," said Dhaliwal's attorney, John C. McCarthy of Claremont, adding that he intends to fight the request for confidentiality. "He would never have signed the confidentiality agreement if he had believed that the purpose was to allow the company to sell potentially deadly products, rather than to protect legitimate trade secrets. Under California law California Law consists of 29 codes, covering various subject areas, the State Constitution and Statutes. See also
The code is divided into Parts 1 and 2, which each contain "titles," some of these being subdivided into "chapters," with "sections" comprising Section 387 requires any corporate manager to report "serious concealed danger" to the state Division of Occupational Safety and Health and other agencies. Dhaliwal was told that his employment was being terminated because Armor All intended to use outside research laboratories in the future, but it has not done so, according to the lawsuit. In addition, Dhaliwal charges that his predecessor, Dr. James Latty, also left under what appear to be similar circumstances. When Dhaliwal received his termination notice, he said, he reviewed papers surrounding Latty's termination, which he previously had filed without reading them. Alarmed at the similarity of circumstances, he said he attempted to file a complaint with the state Attorney General's office, but was referred to Latty's private attorney. The attorney's secretary said that the firm could not represent Dhaliwal or discuss the case with him because of a confidential settlement agreement surrounding the litigation An action brought in court to enforce a particular right. The act or process of bringing a lawsuit in and of itself; a judicial contest; any dispute. When a person begins a civil lawsuit, the person enters into a process called litigation. . "This is an example of American industry's abusive application of confidentiality agreements," said McCarthy. "They are being used not just to protect legitimate trade secrets, but to keep the public from learning about potentially dangerous products. If an employee objects, he is fired. If he sues, the company countersues to silence him, assuring that the public will continue to be in the dark. This is wrong." Armor All is a subsidiary of McKesson Corp. of San Francisco San Francisco (săn frănsĭs`kō), city (1990 pop. 723,959), coextensive with San Francisco co., W Calif., on the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, which are connected by the strait known as the Golden . -0- Note to Editors: Case No. RCV RCV Receive RCV Ranked Choice Voting RCV Replacement Cost Value RCV Refuse Collection Vehicle RCV Revolve RCV Roll Call Vote RCV Red Cell Volume RCV Reference Change Value RCV Remotely Controlled Vehicle RCV Robotic Combat Vehicle RCV Recent Change and Verify 12394, San Bernardino County -- West District, (Rancho Cucamonga Branch) CONTACT: Jo Murray Public Relations public relations, activities and policies used to create public interest in a person, idea, product, institution, or business establishment. By its nature, public relations is devoted to serving particular interests by presenting them to the public in the most Jo Murray, 510/238-8430 (work) 510/451-1410 (home) 510/633-7353 (pager) |
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