Patent Case Against Miller Industries Dismissed

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn., July 16, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Miller Industries, Inc. (NYSE: MLR) (the "Company") today announced that the federal patent case of Jerr-Dan Corporation and JLG Industries, Inc. v. Miller Industries Towing Equipment Company Inc. (W.D. Pa.), involving an auto-leveling device used by towing operators to automatically locate a tow bar at a predetermined height, has been dismissed, and Jerr-Dan does not have the right to bring the case again.  As a result, Miller Industries' auto-leveling products cannot be found to infringe Jerr-Dan's patent.  Shortly after the case was filed, Miller Industries provided evidence to Jerr-Dan of prior technology that cast a substantial doubt on the validity of Jerr-Dan's patent.  As a result, Jerr-Dan agreed to dismiss the lawsuit, and has given Miller Industries a covenant not to sue on Jerr-Dan's patent, according to the publicly available Settlement Agreement.  Frank Madonia, General Counsel of Miller Industries, said, "We are pleased with the result, and happy to put this matter behind us."

Miller Industries is the world's largest manufacturer of towing and recovery equipment, and markets its towing and recovery equipment under a number of well-recognized brands, including Century, Vulcan, Chevron, Holmes, Challenger, Champion, Jige, Boniface and Eagle.

Certain statements in this news release may be deemed to be forward-looking statements, as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "may," "will," "should," "could," "continue," "future," "potential," "believe," "project," "plan," "intend," "seek," "estimate," "predict," "expect," "anticipate" and similar expressions, or the negative of such terms, or other comparable terminology.  They include statements in this release relating to the future economic activity and demand for our products and our future revenue levels, operating results and growth initiatives, among others.  Forward-looking statements also include the assumptions underlying or relating to any of the foregoing statements.  Such forward-looking statements are made based on our management's beliefs as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to, our management.  These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including, among other things, economic and market conditions; the risks related to the general economic health of our customers; the success and timing of existing and additional export and government orders; our customers' access to capital and credit to fund purchases, including the ability of our customers to secure floor plan financing; changes in fuel and other transportation costs; the cyclical nature of our industry; our dependence on outside suppliers of raw materials; changes in the cost of aluminum, steel and related raw materials; and those other risks discussed in our filings with the SEC, including those risks discussed under the caption "Risk Factors" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for fiscal 2012, which discussion is incorporated herein by this reference.  Such factors are not exclusive.  We do not undertake to update any forward-looking statement that may be made from time to time by, or on behalf of, our company.

SOURCE Miller Industries, Inc.