FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: George Jue, President
Pataskala, Ohio (March 31, 2014) – Best Lighting Products, Inc., the largest manufacturer of private label emergency and exit lighting in the U.S., announced today that the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, Eastern Division has ruled favorably in its suit against Pace Electronics, an electronic contract manufacturing services company with headquarters in Sodus, NY and facilities in China. The Court ruled in favor of Best Lighting on a variety of claims, the most significant of which was “reverse palming off under the Lanham Act” whereby a “producer misrepresents someone else’s goods or services as his own.” This is the first instance of the Lanham Act being applied specifically to the emergency and exit lighting industry.
As a result, the Court ordered that Pace is permanently enjoined from manufacturing 17 emergency and exit lighting products found to be the property of Best Lighting Products, Inc. and that Pace is enjoined from using Best’s products in its advertising materials. Best Lighting was also awarded $200,000.00 in punitive damages and $1,400,000.00 in damage claims.
The Court also ruled in Best Lighting’s favor on the following claims against Pace Electronics: breach of express warranty, breach of implied warranty of merchantability and of fitness, breach of contract, tortuous interference with business relationships and expectations, misappropriation of trade secrets and conversion under Ohio law. Best Lighting, which had withheld payment for defective goods, was ordered to deduct the amounts withheld that did not relate to inferior quality merchandise from the total award for damages.
“This is a significant victory for Best Lighting,” said Jeffrey Katz, CEO of Best Lighting Products, Inc. “We are grateful that the Court saw the merits of our case and found the amount and validity of evidence compelling.”
For more information about the litigation and the court’s ruling, please contact Best Lighting’s litigation counsel, Gregory Barwell, Wesp Barwell Carpenter LLC, 614.310.4135 ext. 2, [email protected].