WARRENDALE, Pa., Sept. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- For the second time in two
months, American Eagle Outfitters (Nasdaq: AEOS) prevailed in court against
Abercrombie & Fitch (A&F) (NYSE: ANF), as a federal judge refused to
reconsider his earlier decision that Abercrombie & Fitch does not have a
protectable trade dress, holding that A&F's motion "lacks merit."
In denying a motion for reconsideration of his earlier summary judgment
against A&F, Judge John D. Holschuh of the United States District Court,
Southern District Court of Ohio, "basically reaffirmed his agreement with
American Eagle's position -- that Abercrombie & Fitch's action clearly had no
basis in law," said Robert G. Sugarman, a partner at Weil, Gotshal & Manges
representing American Eagle.
A&F had accused American Eagle of trade dress infringement and unfair
competition. The lawsuit was first dismissed with prejudice by Judge Holschuh
on July 15. The Judge refused A&F's request that he reconsider his decision.
"We would hope that Abercrombie & Fitch would now drop further pursuit of
this matter," said Jay L. Schottenstein, chairman of the board of American
Eagle. "Clearly, the court agrees that A&F's allegations against American
Eagle are groundless."
American Eagle has contended throughout that A&F's trade dress
infringement allegations are grossly false and misleading, and the various
rights A&F is asserting simply don't exist under the law. In his latest
decision, the Judge again agreed with American Eagle's position.
"This type of junk litigation is a bane on American business, and is, in
itself, anti-competitive," said George Kolber, chief operating officer and
vice chairman of American Eagle. "We hope Abercrombie & Fitch's full Board
will take note and stop wasting their company's assets by continuing to beat
this dead horse and allow both sides to get back to devoting their full
attention to the business of retailing. We will not allow such harassment to
interfere with our continuing success."
Warrendale, Penn.-based American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. is a specialty
apparel retailer with 437 stores in 44 states. Year-to-date net sales for the
26 weeks ended July 31, 1999 were $324 million, a 43.7 percent increase over
the same period last year. The company's net income for the period was
$29.2 million, an 89.6 percent increase over the first 26 weeks of 1998.
SOURCE American Eagle Outfitters, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.ae-outfitters.com
Company News On-Call:
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/104763.html or fax,
800-758-5804, ext. 104763
CONTACT:
Marcia Horowitz or Kathleen Lynn, Public
Relations of Rubenstein Associates, Inc., 212-843-8000, for
American Eagle Outfitters
NOTE TO EDITORS: The five page decision is available upon request
from Laura Weil, 724-779-5251
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