May 28, 2008: Wasserman, Comden & Casselman, L.L.P. Wins Malicious Prosecution Trial

Wasserman, Comden & Casselman, L.L.P. Wins Malicious Prosecution Trial:

Jury Finds Dow Chemical Company Liable For Malicious Prosecution,

Awards California Manufacturer $2.85 Million

LOS ANGELES, California, May 28, 2008 - Wasserman, Comden & Casselman, L.L.P. partner I.Donald Weissman, Esq. obtained a favorable jury verdict against Dow Chemical Company, one of the largest chemical companies worldwide. On May 23, 2008, Dow was found liable for malicious prosecution in the U.S. District Court, Middle District of Florida, Orlando Division, Case No. 6:05-cv-1520-Orl-19DAB, before Honorable Gregory A. Presnell, U.S. District Court Judge. Mee Industries, Inc., a family-owned business based in Monrovia, California, was awarded $2.85 million in damages, with additional fees placing the anticipated final amount in excess of $4 million.

"We are very pleased with the outcome of this trial," said I.Donald Weissman, attorney for Mee Industries, Inc. "This is an inspiring victory for business rights as well as consumers, in that there was a strong potential to affect the prices of power for applications such as heating and air-conditioning."

Thomas Mee III and D'Arcy Murray-Sloane, sole shareholders of Mee Industries, Inc., manufacture and market systems for cooling and humidification. Mee's fog systems are used in gas turbines around the world in a variety of applications to augment the production of power, with a procedure called "wet compression." Wet compression has been in use since 1903 and was commercially used on aircraft engines since the 1940's.

In 1999, Dow proposed a license agreement for Dow patents to Mee, which would have blocked Mee's rights to sell certain evaporative cooling systems that Mee had been manufacturing and selling for many years. When Mee declined to sign the license agreement, Dow filed a lawsuit against Mee in April 2000 for infringement and sent letters to Mee's customers, stating that they may be infringing by using Mee products. The Court ruled in favor of Mee in 2002, that Mee did not infringe the patents and most of the claims of the patents were invalid. Mee had the right to continue to manufacture and market its systems. In May 2005, Mee filed for malicious prosecution against Dow and after only one hour of deliberation on May 23, 2008, the jury verdict was announced in favor of Mee.

Wasserman, Comden & Casselman, L.L.P., a leading California law firm for over 30 years, provides comprehensive legal advice and representation to clients throughout the United States and the Pacific Rim in the areas of appellate, business litigation, business transactions, class action, complex litigation, construction law, family law, intellectual property, international transactions, personal injury, real estate, trusts and estates, and workers' compensation.