Company Press Release
SOURCE: American Eagle Outfitters, Inc.
American Eagle Outfitters Wins Dismissal of Abercrombie & Fitch Lawsuit
WARRENDALE, Pa., July 15 /PRNewswire/ -- American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (Nasdaq: AEOS - news; AE) has been granted summary judgment dismissing the lawsuit filed by Abercrombie & Fitch (A&F), Inc. Judge John D. Holschuh of the United States District Court, Southern District of Ohio, ruled in favor of AE and dismissed A&F's lawsuit with prejudice.
Abercrombie & Fitch's lawsuit, filed in June 1998, claimed trade dress infringement and unfair competition by AE. In response to the complaint, AE filed a motion for summary judgment which argued that A&F, ''has no rights, and cannot acquire rights, in the type of generic marketing devices which are described in the complaint.''
According to Jay L. Schottenstein, Chairman of the Board, Schottenstein Stores Corp., the majority shareholder of AE, ''As we said from the beginning, this lawsuit was meritless, frivolous and ridiculous. We are gratified that Judge Holschuh has agreed with us and seen fit to thoroughly dismiss this suit.''
The Judge's decision concludes that the factors identified by A&F, ''are both generic and descriptive, and to forbid other clothing retailers from adopting similar methods of advertising would be unduly anticompetitive.'' In addition, the Judge referred to nine other retailers, ''who used similar features in their advertising.''
According to George Kolber, COO & Vice Chairman, American Eagle Outfitters, ''It is regrettable that this lawsuit took place at all and that A&F chose to compete with us in the courts rather than the most appropriate arena -- the marketplace. We believe that the timing and massive publicity of this lawsuit were a transparent attempt to disrupt the business, diminish investor confidence and disparage the image of AE. We will continue to produce the high quality, fashionable apparel which has enabled us to grow our sales by 42.8% during the past twelve months.''
According to Robert G. Sugarman, partner at Weil, Gotshal & Manges, who represented AE, ''The court's opinion contains a thoughtful analysis of the applicable law. We are delighted that the Judge agreed with our position.'' |
