COURT DISMISSES LAWSUIT FILED BY INVACARE CORPORATION AGAINST SUNRISE MEDICAL.CARLSBAD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 7, 1996--On May 3, 1996, Sunrise Medical, Inc. (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange :SMD (1) (Storage Module Device) A high-performance hard disk interface used with minis and mainframes that transfers data in the 1-4 MBytes/sec range (SMD-E provides highest rate). See hard disk. ) was notified that the United States District Court for the District of Columbia The United States District Court for the District of Columbia is the United States District Court that hears cases originating in the District of Columbia over which federal courts have original jurisdiction. dismissed with prejudice a lawsuit that Invacare Corporation filed earlier this year against Sunrise and its subsidiary, Quickie Design, Inc. The Court concluded that Invacare failed to demonstrate any factual or legal basis for the lawsuit. The lawsuit arose when Sunrise and Quickie stopped buying wheelchair controllers from a New Zealand company The New Zealand Company was formed in 1839 to promote the colonisation of New Zealand. It established settlements at Wellington, New Plymouth, Wanganui and Nelson before ceasing activity about 1844. after it was acquired by Invacare. Following the Invacare acquisition, Sunrise and Quickie shifted their controller purchases to another supplier which makes a competing wheelchair controller, as have other U.S. wheelchair manufacturers. Invacare responded by accusing Sunrise and Quickie of illegally marketing some of these wheelchairs without FDA FDA abbr. Food and Drug Administration FDA, n.pr See Food and Drug Administration. FDA, n.pr the abbreviation for the Food and Drug Administration. clearance. Sunrise and Quickie vigorously objected to these allegations by asking the Court to dismiss the lawsuit. The court sided with Quickie and Sunrise, and dismissed Invacare's case with prejudice. The Court's opinion initially noted that Invacare's original complaint was deficient, and, even after the complaint was amended, the Court concluded that Invacare's suit was fatally flawed. The Court stated that Invacare was improperly seeking to have the Court substitute its judgment for that of the FDA, a course of action the Court said it could not and would not undertake. The Court stressed that Invacare had failed to cite any legal authority in support of its arguments. In commenting on the lawsuit's dismissal, Richard Chandler Richard Chandler (1738 - 9 February 1810), English antiquary, was born at Elson in Hampshire, and educated at Winchester and at Queens College, Cambridge and Magdalen College, Oxford. , president and chairman of Sunrise Medical, said: "We are gratified grat·i·fy tr.v. grat·i·fied, grat·i·fy·ing, grat·i·fies 1. To please or satisfy: His achievement gratified his father. See Synonyms at please. 2. , but not surprised, that the Court dismissed Invacare's frivolous and malicious lawsuit. We believe it was filed as a grandstanding play to harass us, representing competitive tactics of the lowest order designed to use the court system to accomplish what they haven't been able to do in the marketplace." Sunrise Medical designs, manufactures and markets medical products used in institutional and home care settings that address recovery, rehabilitation and respiratory needs of the patient. Sunrise Medical is a proud sponsor of the 1996 Atlanta Paralympic Games Par·a·lym·pic Games pl.n. An international competition for athletes with disabilities. [para-1 + (O)lympic. . CONTACT: Ted N. Tarbet, senior vice president and chief financial officer Marcia P. Vaughan, director of corporate communications Sunrise Medical, 619/930-1500 or Susan Noonan, Noonan/Russo Communications, 212/696-4455 |
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