Legal Action Archives - Page 10 of 12 - Tyrepress

Legal Action

Posts

Legal gag sought to silence former Goodyear employee

Goodyear Tire & Rubber is reported to have filed a suit against Continental Tire the Americas and aims to block Continental, via court order, from hiring one of its former managers. According to US industry publication Tire Review, Goodyear fears the former facility manager will take the company’s trade secrets with him and share them with Continental. The suit has been lodged with the United States District Court in the Northern District of Ohio.

17th June 2011/by Tyrepress Editors

Alleged chemical copycat unrepentant as US firm seeks redress

Despite supposed crackdowns by Chinese authorities, the theft of patents, intellectual property and trade secrets remains a big business in China. And while the tyre industry has not been immune – Michelin among others have pursued legal action against Chinese tyre makers and tyre importers – vastly improved technology and knowledge among Chinese engineers and producers has made it much harder to prove some types of alleged theft.

12th May 2011/by Tyrepress Editors

Westlake responds to ETRMA report with re-tests of its own

Since ETRMA made its research public, most of the named tyre manufacturers have remained silent, however representatives of the largest Chinese-based tyre manufacturer named by the survey responded by writing to ETRMA asking for more information about the testing methodology. Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber, which is responsible for manufacturing the Westlake brand, is asking for access to the tested tyres for tracing purposes, re-testing the tyres at an independent test centre in the UK and has subsequently taken legal action in Germany.

Speaking at a press conference in London on 23 March, technical consultants working on behalf of Hangzhou Zhongce-owned brand Westlake explained that they have hired ETRMA-accredited test centre Rubber Consultants (formerly known as TARRC) in a bid to demonstrate compliance with Reach legislation. Hertford-based Rubber Consultants announced that it had been acknowledged by the European Tyre and Rubber Manufacturers' Association (ETRMA) as a certified independent testing body on 22 March. One of the first jobs Rubber Consultants carried out for the ETRMA in this capacity was to independently verify the initial findings of the association’s tests into compliance of the Reach regulation regarding PAH oils.

30th March 2011/by Tyrepress Editors

Legal Opinion on Washington Tire Pending

The Port of Ephrata, an inland industrial area located in the US state of Washington, is awaiting a legal opinion from its attorney about proceeding with Washington Tire's prospective factory. Local newspaper the Columbia Basin Herald states that Washington Tire missed a recent deadline to supply documentation to the Port of Ephrata about the "legal authority" of company representative Abraham Hengyucius (whose real name, according to US publication Tire Review, is Hengyu Zhang) and the firm’s "legitimate incorporation".

15th September 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

Prison for ‘Prolific’ Fly Tipper

It’s chokey for Malcolm the fly-tipper. Tower Hamlets Council has reported the sentencing of Malcolm Regan – a man it describes as one of the UK’s most prolific fly-tippers – to four months’ imprisonment for his misdeeds. The 44-year old Mile End man appeared in Blackfriars Crown Court on August 9 along with accomplices Michael Briggs and Anthony Gustave.

12th August 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

Goodyear Statement on Nevada Court Ruling

Last week the Nevada Supreme Court upheld a jury trial's $32.2 million judgment against Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. resulting from a 2004 accident that killed three people and injured seven others. The court rejected the tyre-maker’s claim that the jury award was excessive, reports Tire Review.

7th July 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

Toyo Dumped From US Truck Tyre Partnership, Sues Conti, Yokohama

Information obtained by Tire Review in the US indicates that Toyo Tire USA is “scrambling to fill truck tyre orders” following its dismissal earlier in the year from the GTY Tire Co. joint venture by partners Continental Tire the Americas and Yokohama Tire Corporation. The tyre maker has taken legal action as a result of this action and, in a lawsuit filed in January, Toyo claims that both Conti and Yokohama are attempting to prevent Toyo from selling any radial truck tyres in the US for five years, and that the partners have declared GTY Tire to be no more. All this, notes Tire Review, may be the indirect result of the “business and capital alliance” partnership struck between Toyo Tire & Rubber and Bridgestone Corporation in May 2008.

17th June 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

Check Internet Links Warns NTDA

Used properly, the Internet can be a powerful and valuable marketing tool. Unfortunately, in the wrong hands, it can be used to adversely affect your business. It recently came to the attention of the NTDA that a wholesaler of tyres on the Internet had downloaded details of all NTDA members and, customers who logged on to certain retailers' websites were being diverted to the wholesaler's site.

It may sound a trivial offence, but it is one which is being taken increasingly seriously by courts. Indeed, in a recent case, a disgruntled estate agent purchased the ".com" version of his former employers' domain name (the employers were using the ".co.uk" address) and visitors to the site were diverted to a hardcore porn site. The case went to court and the employee was found guilty of passing off and copyright infringement and had to pay costs of £15,000.

In this instance, the NTDA warned members that this was happening and e-mailed the following letter to members:

11th May 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

12 Months’ Prison for Illegal Tyres

On March 24, a Malvern man was sentenced to a total of 12 months imprisonment for illegally depositing and storing used tyres at his workplace and home. Mark Alexanda Smith, aged 43, pleaded guilty at Worcester Crown Court on 13 January 2010 to three charges relating to the illegal deposit and keeping of controlled waste. The charges were brought by the Environment Agency under the Environmental Protection Act 1990. Mr Smith was sentenced to four months imprisonment for each of the three offences, with the sentences to run consecutively.

25th March 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

Jury Faults Cooper, Awards $33 Million to Plaintiffs

Tire Review reports that an Iowa jury awarded seven passengers in a deadly 2007 rollover accident some $33 million, finding Cooper Tire & Rubber Co at fault. Seven passengers involved in a deadly van rollover crash near Bondurant won a $33 million verdict Friday from a Polk County jury that blamed a US tyre-maker for the accident.

22nd March 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone Issues ‘Amberstone’ Suit Statement

Bridgestone Americas has issued a statement regarding its decision to file a trademark infringement suit against Commerce Max Inc over its use of the ‘Amberstone’ tyre brand name, reports Tire Review. "We filed a lawsuit in US District Court in Nashville on 12 March, against San Benito, Texas-based Commerce Max Inc for trademark infringement, trademark dilution and unfair competition.

22nd March 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone Sues over Trademark Infringement

Bridgestone Americas has reportedly filed trademark infringement suit against Commerce Max Inc., a Texas company selling “Amberstone” brand medium truck and OTR tyres, reports Tire Review. Based in Pflugerville, Texas, Commerce Max, according to its website, sells a wide range of tyre brands, including Michelin, Bridgestone, Goodyear, Yokohama, General and Firestone. The Amberstone brand tyres it offers are produced in China by an unnamed manufacturer.

16th March 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

Age Interest Magazine Honours Ledbetter

The US based non-profit organisation AARP caters to the interests of people aged 50 plus, and one of the services it directs at its mature support base is AARP The Magazine. This publication, which AARP describes as the “definitive voice for 50+ Americans”, is claimed by the organisation to be, with 35.7 million readers, the world’s largest-circulation magazine. For the last eight years it has held an annual ‘Inspire Awards’, which salutes ten individuals in the aforementioned age bracket who “are using their energy, creativity, and passion to make the world a better place.” The 2010 list of honourees includes one name that may have a familiar ring to those at one Akron, US based tyre manufacturer – Lilly Ledbetter.

1st December 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Formula One 2009, Round Eight: Brawn, Button Beaten in Britain

Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber ensured that Red Bull Racing scored its first one-two of the Formula One season at a Silverstone Grand Prix somewhat overshadowed by an ongoing spat between the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) and the Formula One Teams Association (FOTA). Rubens Barrichello, championship leader Jenson Button’s Brawn GP teammate took third spot on the podium, while 2009’s leading contender was able to grab only three points at his home race in P6. Drivers’ Championship holder Lewis Hamilton continued a miserable third season following the highs of his first two years in sixteenth.

Meanwhile the row between the eight teams threatening to create an offshoot championship and the FIA continues, following the announcement of a budget cap system to be introduced in 2010. On its website, the FIA argues in a statement dated 16 June 2009 that the sport “cannot sustain” both “technical freedom” and “the freedom to spend without limit”, calling the ability of major car companies to do the latter “insane in the current climate”.

22nd June 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Conti Management “Welcomes” Clairoix Court Decision

Continental’s decision to close its Clairoix factory in France was met with allegations the company had failed to correctly consult employee representatives beforehand, as required by French law. The plant’s joint works council instigated legal action against Conti, however these claims were dismissed by The Tribunal de Grande Instance (high court) of Sarreguemines on April 21.

“Our Continental France subsidiary was ruled to have acted correctly throughout in informing and consulting with the members of the joint works council. We take the occasion of this court decision to emphatically reaffirm that Continental AG has consistently respected and complied with all legal stipulations,” declared Dr. Bernhard Trilken, in charge of worldwide production for the Continental Passenger and Light Truck Tires division.

22nd April 2009/by Tyrepress Editors