Continuant: Avaya PDS Claims Dismissed

TRENTON, N.J., Nov. 15, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- In an important development related to ongoing litigation between communications systems manufacturer Avaya and independent voice and data maintenance and support provider Continuant, Avaya announced its intention to withdraw all legal claims related to its predictive dialing systems (PDS) against Continuant, and a federal court has dismissed all of Avaya's PDS claims on that basis. PDS is more recently known as Proactive Contact.

On August 22, 2011, Avaya notified Continuant's legal counsel of its intention to drop the PDS claims.  On November 14, 2011, the Honorable Garrett E. Brown, Jr., a Judge for the Federal District Court for the District of New Jersey, signed an order dismissing all of Avaya's claims related to PDS.

The legal case will be tried before a jury in the U.S. Federal District Court of New Jersey, most likely in mid-2012, said Continuant co-founder and Chief Sales Officer, Bruce Shelby.  Shelby noted that Continuant has spent the last five years embroiled in litigation with Avaya, charging the "Ma Bell" AT&T- Lucent Technologies descendant with monopolistic, anticompetitive behavior related to maintenance and service of Avaya telephone systems. During that time, Shelby said, Avaya launched an aggressive letter-writing campaign, warning Avaya PDS system users about the dangers of retaining Continuant to service such systems, claiming that using Continuant for PDS maintenance and support would be "illegal" and a "breach of  the PDS system owner's contract with Avaya."

Dropping the PDS claim from the legal case is a major win for consumers, because it brings back the choice of maintenance and support provider, Shelby pointed out. "We regard this development as a major concession from Avaya that its PDS-related claims against Continuant were baseless and without merit," Shelby noted, adding that Avaya's letter-writing campaign contributed to the loss of long-standing customers, who were intimidated by Avaya into dropping long-standing contracts. "We look forward to bringing competition back to the marketplace," Shelby said.

Continuant is the leading provider of manufacturer-independent maintenance and support services for enterprise communications systems. The company maximizes the uptime of unified communications, contact centers, and network infrastructure with cost-effective, state-of-the-art services. Continuant support services are provided by a comprehensive network of highly qualified technicians and engineers located throughout North America. More information about Continuant can be found at www.continuant.com.

SOURCE Continuant