Anatomic Global said it had 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 like hell 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. manufactures and supplies “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.