Dismissed by U.S. District Court in Kentucky
l On May 15, the U.S. District Court for the western district of Kentucky dismissed the claims filed by Silberline Manufacturing Company and Silberline Ltd. against Eckart-Werke and Eckart America L.P. Defendants in the March 2000 lawsuit also included Eckart America Corp., Eckart Aluminum L.P., Eckart Aluminum Corp. and David Inglis. The suit arose from Eckart Germany’s hiring of a former employee of Silberline Ltd. in Scotland (see May 2000, Coatings World, p. 74). The May 15 dismissal denied Silberline’s earlier motion which petitioned the Court to reconsider and vacate a January 2001 order that dismissed the case in favor of Eckart.
The Court’s January 2001 opinion stated, “the court does not find either legal or factual support for Silberline’s contention in the case” that the Eckart entities and David Inglis engaged in certain wrongful conduct that threatened the misappropriation of trade secrets and other proprietary information, according to a statement released by Eckart.
“The court’s decision demonstrated the lawsuit was twice-proven to be without merit and the allegations against the Eckart companies were in fact baseless,” said Carl Eckart, managing partner, Eckart-Werke. “This action has served to strengthen our resolve and commitment to grow our global presence and guarantee a competitive environment within the marketplace, particularly in the U.S.”