Chase Industries, Inc. v. Frommelt Industries, Inc.

806 F. Supp. 1381, 1992 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17785, 1992 WL 338438
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Iowa
DecidedOctober 2, 1992
DocketC87-1024
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 806 F. Supp. 1381 (Chase Industries, Inc. v. Frommelt Industries, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Iowa primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Chase Industries, Inc. v. Frommelt Industries, Inc., 806 F. Supp. 1381, 1992 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17785, 1992 WL 338438 (N.D. Iowa 1992).

Opinion

ORDER

HANSEN, Circuit Judge,

Sitting by Designation.

This matter is before the court on this court’s order of July 5, 1991, directing defendant to appear before the court to show cause why it should not be held in contempt. The court held a hearing in this matter on September 17, 1991, and a supplemental hearing on November 1, 1991. Appearing for plaintiff were James C. Nemmers, Esq. (at the September 17, 1991 hearing), Constance M. Alt, Esq. (at the November 1, 1991 hearing), and Guy W. Chambers, Esq. Appearing for defendant were Leo A. McCarthy, Esq., and Paul L. Brown, Esq. Testimony was taken, evidence was received, and the arguments of the parties were made and heard. The decision in this case has been delayed because of this judge’s appointment to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. For the past ten months, I have tried to carry water on both shoulders, acting both as a district judge to decide and determine the cases I had tried, and as a circuit judge with a full circuit case load. In doing so, priorities had to be established among the various criminal and civil trial and appellate cases for which I had responsibility. The court, having now had the opportunity to review the testimony and evidence and to consider the arguments of the parties, makes the following Findings of Fact, determines Conclusions of Law, and enters the following Order.

FINDINGS OF FACT

1. Plaintiff originally filed a complaint for patent infringement against defendant on August 17, 1984. See Durus Indus., Inc. v. Frommelt Indus., Inc., No. C84-1031 (N.D.Iowa). That, action was settled in December 1986 by a settlement agreement entered into between the parties. See defendant’s exhibit A. On May 14, 1987, plaintiff brought this action for breach of that settlement agreement. On July 7, 1987, this court entered a preliminary injunction against defendant. See defendant’s exhibit B. Following entry of the preliminary injunction, the parties entered into a settlement agreement. See defendant’s exhibit D. That settlement agreement provided for the entry of the consent judgment and permanent injunction by the court, which was entered on October 16, 1987. See defendant’s exhibit C (“consent judgment”).

2. The consent judgment provides:

Defendant Frommelt and its officers, directors, successors, assigns, affiliates, agents, servants, employees and all persons or entities in active concert or participation with Frommelt who receive notice of this Consent Judgment are perma *1384 nently enjoined and restrained from manufacturing, using, distributing, licensing, selling or marketing the Frommelt Series 7000, Model 7720 impact resistance door, or any other impact resistance door featuring a rotationally molded top edge, or any Frommelt Series 7000 door which is not manufactured substantially as shown in Exhibit “A” to the Settlement Agreement entered into by Durus and From-melt in December, 1986.

Consent judgment, entered October 16, 1987, at para. 3.

3. The second settlement agreement provides:

FROMMELT agrees that it will not manufacture, distribute, license, offer to sell, sell or otherwise market any Series 7000 impact resistance door having a rotationally molded top edge or which is not manufactured substantially as shown in Exhibit “A” to the December, 1986 settlement agreement.

Settlement agreement, defendant’s exhibit D, at para. 1.

4. Following the issuance of the preliminary injunction of July 7, 1987, Paul J. Frommelt, Chief Executive Officer of Frommelt Industries (Frommelt), instructed David Frommelt, product manager of the door division, to implement the injunction. On July 17, 1987, prior to the issuance of the consent judgment, David Frommelt sent an engineering change notice (ECN) to the manufacturing, marketing, and sales departments. See defendant’s exhibit E. That ECN stated that, with respect to all 7000 series, 7700 model doors, manufacturing should “cut tops off all 7000 panels and cap.” Id.

5. Thomas L. Jansen was the production foreman at Frommelt responsible for implementing the ECN. At the September 17,1991 hearing, Mr. Jansen, using models, see defendant’s exhibits I through M, demonstrated the process of making the doors at issue. Frommelt receives panels from its supplier in two sizes, 4 by 8 feet and 3 by 7 feet. The panels, when received, have rotationally molded, closed, rounded edges on all four sides. The rotational molding on the jamb side of the door is completely cut off by Frommelt, and the hinge stile is attached. Hardware caps are installed on the top and bottom. The rotational molding on the bottom is also completely cut off. The door is then “squared” to the appropriate size by cutting off a portion of the top. A top cap is then pop riveted on to cover the top edge. For a 3- by 7-foot panel, as much as a % inch section is cut off from the top of the door. For a 4- by 8-foot panel, a % inch section is normally cut off.

6. With regard to the 3- by 7-foot doors, because only enough of the top of the door is cut off to square the door, some have all of the rotational molding on the top of the door cut off, and others have little cut off. Still other doors have part of the rotational molding cut off in varying degrees. Compare defendant’s exhibit P with plaintiff’s exhibit 2 (November 1,1991 hearing).

7. With regard to the 4- by 8-foot doors, all of the rotational molding on the top of the door is cut off. Plaintiff has withdrawn its claim that the 4- by 8-foot doors violate the consent judgment.

8. Prior to August of 1991, Mr. Jansen had not seen a copy of the consent judgment. Mr. Jansen was never explicitly instructed to cut the top of each door so that no rotational molding was left on the top. There is no evidence that Frommelt’s upper management took any steps to determine what procedure Mr. Jansen was following in response to the ECN, or to the injunction, or if the product which went out the door met the terms of the injunction.

9. At the National Plant Engineering and Maintenance Show (NPEM Show) in Chicago in April 1991, Frommelt demonstrated a Series 7000 door which had a complete uncut rotationally molded top edge and no top cap. See exhibit 7 to plaintiff’s memorandum, filed July 5, 1991. That door was manufactured prior to the issuance of the consent judgment. In fact, it was the very door whose showing at the Promat 87 trade show generated the underlying 1987 injunction proceedings. A few days before the 1991 NPEM Show, Mr. Jansen was informed by his supervisor, *1385 James Risley, that a display Series 7000 door was needed. Mr. Jansen examined the door which they had used at the most recent trade shows and found it to be scratched and unusable. He then searched through the boxes in the storeroom, found the Promat 1987 door, placed it in the display pedestal, and the door was then actually shown at the NPEM Show. No From-melt employee gave any explicit consideration to whether that door complied with or violated the consent judgment.

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806 F. Supp. 1381, 1992 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17785, 1992 WL 338438, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/chase-industries-inc-v-frommelt-industries-inc-iand-1992.