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August 1, 2009 –
Anatomic Global last week filed a motion to dismiss a
lawsuit filed against the company and 13 others in U.S.
District Court for the Western District of Virginia, by
Tempur-Pedic on the basis that Anatomic lacks personal
jurisdiction and that Virginia is an improper venue as
it never sold product in the region. At the same time,
Anatomic initiated litigation against Tempur-Pedic in
U.S. District Court for the Central District of
California seeking a declaratory judgment in its favor,
saying that Tempur-Pedic’s patents are “unenforceable,
invalid and were not infringed upon under any
circumstance.”
Anatomic says it will continue to support and
collaborate with all of the defendants and other
competing manufacturers in the case.
“This lawsuit was designed in a truly dishonorable and
un-American way to put a legal head lock around 13
reputable competitors and to force us to defend
ourselves in the back woods of Virginia, where at least
in our case, we never sold a mattress,” said Anatomic
CEO David Farley. “We thought we would simply take the
opportunity while we had it, to defend ourselves here on
our own turf in California. This move is key to the
commitment we have made to our customers to keep our
costs down.
“Tempur-Pedic is using the legal process to trap so many
of the competing manufacturers –approximately 70 percent
of the total market-- and has relied upon a
technological and intellectual property position that is
so obviously flawed; well, situations like this just
don’t come along too often in any industry,” he added.
“I’m sure the general public, in particular the retail
community we serve who this suit is actually directed
at, along with our competitors and Tempur-Pedic’s
stockholders, are all going to be very impressed by what
is about to occur.
“I just want our customers and industry competitors to
know that we at Anatomic believe we all have a very good
chance of prevailing in the case and that we are all
working as hard as we can over here to assure that
outcome,” said Farley.
He added that as his company continues to add more and
more regional and national chains to its client roster
despite the additional challenges created by
Tempur-Pedic’s suit and that the “2010 class technology
memory foam” products such as those produced by Anatomic
are indeed superior to that of the market leader, and
much more in tune with the changing needs of consumers
and the retailer’s “second wave” opportunities. “Such
strides made by all of the defendants in this case are
obviously proving to be a challenge for Tempur-Pedic,”
he said.
Founded in 1989, Anatomic Global, Inc. sets itself apart
by raising the bar on the manufacture and supply of
“proudly made in the USA” environmentally-friendly
mattresses and bedding. The company upholds a 360-degree
green manufacturing commitment in three ways – by
developing applications for its innovative and
sustainable plant-based formulas; by leading the
industry with its zero-air emissions manufacturing
process; and by applying the most efficient
direct-to-store and consumer-direct delivery methods for
a reduced carbon footprint.
In 2008, the company launched the Ecomfort Mattress
brand of mattresses featuring its signature, patented
EcoMemoryFoam™ extreme open-cell plant-based memory
foam.
For more information, visit
www.ecomfortmattress.com. |
