Gilsulate Fights For Industry and Succeeds With Resolution
Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) June 04, 2014 -- On May 29, 2014, United States District Court Judge, the Hon. Ronald S.W. Lew, ordered the entry of judgment for a permanent injunction against DriTherm International, Inc., a New Jersey based seller of a pour in place insulation product for underground piping, and its owner, Jared Sandman, because of various marketplace misrepresentations that had been made by DriTherm and Sandman regarding the product’s technical specifications, physical and performance properties which were determined to be unsupported by valid testing. Significantly, the misrepresentations regarding the installed density of 60-62 lbs/ft3 and thermal conductivity* of 0.58 at 100°F - 0.68 at 300°F were found to not be supported by expert testing of the Dritherm product.
The judgment for permanent injunction was issued as the result of a lawsuit filed in 2013 by Gilsulate International, Inc., a California based company, which manufactures and sells the underground piping insulation and corrosion protection product, Gilsulate®500XR which was patented in 1980. That lawsuit included claims for violation of the federal statute prohibiting false advertising (the Lanham Act) and associated state law causes of action for false and deceptive advertising and unlawful business practices. The lawsuit was filed after DriTherm had failed to comply with cease and desist and directive letters from two federal agencies (NASA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) and Gilsulate International instructing them to stop misrepresenting certain matters regarding the product they distribute.
The permanent injunction issued against DriTherm International and Sandman requires, among other things, that they may not represent the installed densities of its product to be less than 80 lbs/ft3 (or 76 lbs/ft3 for Illinois source) and may not represent the thermal conductivity* to be other than 0.99 at 100°F - 1.36 at 300°F (or 0.87 at 100°F - 1.25 at 300°F for Illinois source) without appropriate valid new testing.
Laura Duncan, President of Gilsulate International Inc. stated that, "It has been frustrating to see DriTherm’s misrepresentations regarding its product’s capabilities, knowing that the industry, the engineers and end-users, typically rely entirely on the published performance properties and award contracts based on that information. Although we knew Dritherm’s representations were false due to our own testing, knowledge and understanding of the coated calcium carbonate material; it took this court action to validate our position as our warnings often went unheeded because we were a competitor. Unfortunately, due to Dritherm’s false published claims many consumers concluded that DriTherm is an equal to Gilsulate®500XR. Therefore, any poor performance of Dritherm reflects badly for the entire industry. Dritherm has now been enjoined by the court from making statements that DriTherm is an equal alternative to or replacement for Gilsulate500XR. This judgment for permanent injunction vindicates Gilsulate’s concerns and sets verifiable testing standards and requirements for the industry which should aid end-users and engineers in determining if products will actually meet the requirements set forth in their specifications. Unfortunately, the significance of these findings is that for many years, many customers of DriTherm likely purchased a product that did not meet engineered specifications for the designs of their underground piping systems. Some of these end users purchased a product that had installed densities that were significantly higher than what DriTherm had represented with corresponding thermal conductivity values that were nowhere close to what was required."
In addition to the requirements of the injunction dealing with density and thermal conductivity, DriTherm and Sandman are enjoined from representing any product performance characteristic that is not supported through valid and appropriate testing. Also, the injunction prohibits DriTherm and Sandman from making false statements regarding Gilsulate or the Gilsulate®500XR product.
The federal court ordered injunction contains over 30 additional provisions which restrict Dritherm in regard to claims about its own product and that of Gilsulate. To review these provisions, a complete copy of the Judgment for Stipulated Permanent Injunction is available online at http://www.gilsulate.com/injunction.html or upon request to info(at)gilsulate(dot)com.
- Thermal Conductivity units expressed in Btu-in/hr-ft2°F
Laura Duncan, Gilsulate International, Inc., http://www.gilsulate.com, +1 661-799-3881, [email protected]
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