Court Preliminarily Deems Millennium Laboratories' Press Release 'Misleading'

BALTIMORE, June 14, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Ameritox(SM), the nation's leader in pain medication monitoring, announced today that the Baltimore, MD, Federal Court issued a Preliminary Injunction order against Millennium Laboratories for misleading statements contained within a Millennium Laboratories press release.  The Preliminary Injunction confirms the court's initial concerns about the Millennium Laboratories press release that led to its issuance of the Temporary Restraining Order on Wednesday, June 13, and moves from a temporary restriction to enjoining Millennium Laboratories' action regarding the press release. Following is the language directly from the Preliminary Injunction issued by the Court on Thursday, June 14, 2012:

"On June 13, 2012, Millennium and Ameritox entered into, and the Court approved, a Consent Order that concluded the above-captioned Lanham Act case. Docket No. 321. Later the same day, Millennium issued a press release (the "Press Release") concerning the litigation and the Consent Order. Docket No. 306-1. Upon motion by Ameritox, the Court granted a Temporary Restraining Order requiring, inter alia, that Millennium take down the Press Release from its web site, and enjoining Millennium's sales representatives from using the Press Release in sales presentations or communications. Docket No. 329.

On June 14, 2012, the Court reviewed written submissions from both sides and convened a sealed hearing. For reasons that the Court stated on the record, the undersigned granted Ameritox's motion to convert the Temporary Restraining Order to a Preliminary Injunction (Docket No. 324).1 This order effectuates that ruling.

To set the record straight, the Court will publish a brief opinion stating clearly the advertisements that were accused under the Lanham Act, the grounds upon which the advertisements were accused, the evidentiary limitations imposed by the Court, the recommendations of the advisory jury, and the rulings of the Court. The Court will issue this opinion as soon as practicable.

Until the Court can write the opinion and review it with counsel, the interests of justice require that Millennium be enjoined from distributing the Press Release or using it in sales presentations. Hence, the Court is issuing this preliminary injunction.

As the Court explained during today's hearing, a preliminary injunction is warranted under the standard articulated in Winter v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., 555 U.S. 7, 20 (2008). Moreover, the Court has inherent authority to enjoin misleading statements concerning litigation before it. See Am. Sci. & Eng'g, Inc. v. Autoclear, LLC, 606 F. Supp. 2d 617, 626 (E.D. Va. 2008) (orderingremoval of a press release that contained misleading statements about the court's rulings).²

The Court is not enjoining all communication by the parties regarding this litigation, but only the Press Release that the Court has, on the basis of the record before it, preliminarily deemed to be misleading. The injunction is, therefore, appropriately tailored. See Cornwell v. Sachs, 99 F. Supp. 2d 695, 708 (E.D.Va. 2000).

For the foregoing reasons, it is this 14th Day of June, 2012, hereby ORDERED as follows:

1. The Temporary Restraining Order issued on June 13, 2012 (Docket No. 329) is VACATED;

2. Millennium shall remove the Press Release from its web site; and

3. Pending further Order of Court, Millennium is preliminarily enjoined from using the Press Release in sales presentations or communications or otherwise disseminating it to the public.

About Ameritox

Ameritox is the nation's leader in Pain Medication Monitoring Solutions®, offering specialized laboratory testing and reporting services. Ameritox's expertise and innovative science provide physicians with insights and support to enhance and optimize the care of chronic pain patients. Ameritox offers the most thorough pain medication monitoring lab process – Rx Guardian(SM) – with Rx Guardian CD(SM), the only pain medication screening with a proprietary normalization algorithm and a reference database of pain patients assessed for medication adherence. Patient results are compared against this database, helping physicians assess whether patients are taking their pain medications correctly. Monitoring through urine drug testing helps physicians make more informed clinical decisions and manage the risks and complexities associated with prescribing pain medications. Ameritox is headquartered in Baltimore, Md. with laboratory facilities in Midland, Texas and Greensboro, N.C. Ameritox can be found online at www.ameritox.com, on Twitter @Ameritox, or on Facebook at facebook.com/ameritox.

© 2012 Ameritox Ltd. All rights reserved. AMERITOX, the AMERITOX logos, AMERITOX AUTOREMINDER, AMERITOX MEDICATION MONITORING SOLUTIONS, AMERITOX UNIVERSITY, PAIN MEDICATION MONITORING SOLUTIONS, POWERED BY YOUR NEED TO KNOW and PROTECT YOUR PATIENTS. PROTECT YOUR PRACTICE. RX GUARDIAN, RX GUARDIAN CD, and RX GUARDIAN AUTOREMINDER are trademarks of Ameritox.

Contact:

Lon Wagner
Director of Communications
336-387-7742

SOURCE Ameritox Ltd.