Flooring America Sues Major Competitors for Disparaging Messages On Internet Message Board.Business Editors KENNESAW, Ga.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 13, 2000 Flooring America (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange :FRA Fra: see Angelico, Fra; Bartolommeo di Pagholo del Fattorino, Fra; Fra Filippo Lippi under Lippi. ), a leading floor-covering retailer, today announced the filing of a seven-count lawsuit in federal court in Atlanta, Georgia, seeking compensatory and punitive damages Monetary compensation awarded to an injured party that goes beyond that which is necessary to compensate the individual for losses and that is intended to punish the wrongdoer. in excess of $100,000,000 and a preliminary injunction A temporary order made by a court at the request of one party that prevents the other party from pursuing a particular course of conduct until the conclusion of a trial on the merits. A preliminary injunction is regarded as extraordinary relief. against one of its largest competitors and a supplier of that competitor for publishing false and disparaging dis·par·age tr.v. dis·par·aged, dis·par·ag·ing, dis·par·ag·es 1. To speak of in a slighting or disrespectful way; belittle. See Synonyms at decry. 2. To reduce in esteem or rank. messages on an internet message board hosted by Yahoo! The Complaint charges that, since February 1999, Carpet Co-Op of America, Inc. (which does business as Carpet One Carpet One is a retailers' cooperative in the carpet, rug, and other floor covering sector (vinyl, tile, hardwood, laminate) in North America, New Zealand, and Australia. It was formed in 1985 and now has over 1000 stores. ), Misco-Shawnee, Inc. (a supplier of flooring products), and James Gould (the owner of Misco-Shawnee and holder of the Color Tile brand name) have been using aliases to publish messages to the internet message board created as a forum for communications among shareholders of Flooring America stock. The Complaint alleges that, among other things, these defendants (1) published materially false and misleading information concerning Flooring America, (2) posted disparaging statements, (3) made defamatory statements about Flooring America and certain of its senior executive officers, and (4) misappropriated mis·ap·pro·pri·ate tr.v. mis·ap·pro·pri·at·ed, mis·ap·pro·pri·at·ing, mis·ap·pro·pri·ates 1. a. To appropriate wrongly: misappropriating the theories of social science. confidential information Noun 1. confidential information - an indication of potential opportunity; "he got a tip on the stock market"; "a good lead for a job" steer, tip, wind, hint, lead from Flooring America and disclosed that proprietary information on the message board for the purpose of damaging Flooring America's relationships with its franchisees, employees and investors. The Complaint further alleges that, in publishing the messages and in order to create an air of credibility to the messages, the defendants posed as franchisees, employers and other insiders of Flooring America when, in fact, they were not. The Complaint also charges that, after the defendants posted many of the disparaging and defamatory messages, defendant Jim Nielsen, a regional membership director of Carpet One, faxed and mailed invitations to Flooring America franchisees for all-expense paid trips to meetings intended to induce Flooring America franchisees to break their franchise agreements with Flooring America to join Carpet One and made disparaging and defamatory statements in the solicitation. Additionally, the Complaint charges that, at a trade convention in Las Vegas in January 2000 in the presence of prominent officials in the floor covering industry, Alan Greenberg, the Co-Chief Executive Officer of Carpet One, made defamatory statements directed at a senior executive of Flooring America for the purpose of damaging the reputation of the executive and the Company. The lawsuit asserts claims for trade libel, intentional interference with contractual and business relations, aiding and abetting a·bet tr.v. a·bet·ted, a·bet·ting, a·bets 1. To approve, encourage, and support (an action or a plan of action); urge and help on. 2. a breach of fiduciary duty, unfair competition, and violations of the Georgia Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act and Trade Secrets Act. Statements included in this press release which are not historical in nature, are intended to be, and are hereby identified as "forward looking statements" for the purposes of the safe harbor Safe Harbor 1. A legal provision to reduce or eliminate liability as long as good faith is demonstrated. 2. A form of shark repellent implemented by a target company acquiring a business that is so poorly regulated that the target itself is less attractive. provision provided by section 21 of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934. Flooring America cautions readers that actual results or events may differ from those indicated in forward-looking statements. Based in the Atlanta, Georgia suburb of Kennesaw, Flooring America is a leading retailer of floorcovering and the nation's only publicly traded franchisor. Flooring America's retail network extends to 300 company-owned operations and approximately 700 franchise locations. Flooring America stores offer consumers a comprehensive selection of carpet, ceramic tile, wood, vinyl, and resilient floors from those industries' leading manufacturers. The common stock of Flooring America trades on the New York Stock Exchange New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) World's largest marketplace for securities. The exchange began as an informal meeting of 24 men in 1792 on what is now Wall Street in New York City. under the symbol "FRA." All questions and requests for the complaint should be directed to: Jay W. Eisenhofer, Esq. Grant & Eisenhofer, P.A. 1220 North Market St., Suite 500 Wilmington, Delaware 19801 (302) 622-7000 |
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