JM Eagle files suit against the Phillips & Cohen law firm for distribution of a false and defamatory press release that misrepresented a recent jury verdict

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 24, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- JM Eagle, the world's largest maker of plastic pipe, has filed a libel suit against the Phillips & Cohen law firm for a false and defamatory press release the firm issued boasting of a jury verdict against the pipe maker.

The November 15, 2013 press release falsely stated that a federal jury found JM Eagle (formerly J-M Manufacturing) had manufactured "faulty," "substandard," "weak," and "shoddy" pipe that it sold to public utilities, according to the complaint.

The offending press release quoted P&C attorney Eric Havian, the lead plaintiffs' trial counsel, saying the jury found the JM pipe was shoddy and weak, which directly contradicted what Mr. Havian told the jury in his closing argument, the complaint states.

"P&C knew, or at the very least recklessly disregarded the truth that the jury did not make a finding of whether J-M had sold substandard or defective pipe," stated the complaint, which was filed late Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court. "The offending press release was published with constitutional malice…as demonstrated by – among other things – P&C partner Eric Havian's closing argument at trial."

The lawsuit quotes from the official court transcript showing that Mr. Havian told the jury: "The court will never instruct you anywhere that we have to show we got substandard pipe. This is not a products liability case…it is not about substandard products."

The lawsuit says that the damages to JM's reputation and its sales are to be determined at trial but amount to millions of dollars.

"The press release was a gross misrepresentation of the jury verdict and has caused JM Eagle substantial harm by unfairly disparaging its good name and products, which were never proved, let alone contemplated by the jury, to be defective," said JM Eagle's attorney Anthony Glassman of Glassman, Browning, Saltsman & Jacobs, Inc.

"The jury was told expressly that the case was not a defective or substandard product case, and they were never asked to render a verdict on the quality of JM pipe," Mr. Glassman added.

The defamation complaint emphasizes that the falsity of the P&C press release is amply demonstrated by the lack of evidence presented to the jury.

"At trial, the plaintiffs' witnesses admitted they had no evidence that the J-M pipe they received violated any industry standards," the complaint states. It says one witness for the plaintiffs admitted it was possible that "100 percent" of the J-M pipe it received was good.

Another plaintiffs' witness conceded that there was no way to verify whether the pipe met industry standards, and that none of the J-M pipe it purchased has ever failed. Two others testified that they did not know whether any of the plaintiffs had received any J-M pipe that failed to meet industry standards.

P&C originally brought its lawsuit on behalf of a former disgruntled JM employee who alleged that the company misrepresented the quality and strength of pipe that it sold to public utilities in violation of the False Claims Act. The employee was fired after being accused of soliciting a kickback from a JM customer.

The jury verdict simply stated that some JM pipe was not in "uniform compliance" with two industry standards. JM Eagle has filed a motion with the court to have the verdict set aside because no evidence of a false claim was presented at trial and no evidence was presented that any of the specific pipe that plaintiffs bought violated industry standards.

In its motion to set the verdict aside, the company argued that the jury instructions were ambiguous, insufficient and misunderstood by the jury. "At trial, Plaintiffs' witnesses uniformly admitted that they had no evidence that the specific pipe they received violated any industry standards," the pleading argued. "The jury was not asked to, and did not find that Plaintiffs had received something other than what J-M had asked them to pay for—pipe that met the promised standards."

About JM Eagle™
With 20 manufacturing plants throughout North America, JM Eagle manufactures the widest array of high-grade, high-performance polyvinyl chloride and high-density polyethylene pipe across a variety of industries and applications including utility, solvent weld, electrical conduit, natural gas, irrigation, potable water and sewage. More information can be found at www.jmeagle.com.

To view complaint click here

SOURCE JM Eagle