Polypore Receives Favorable Ruling on Preliminary Injunction Against LG Chem, Ltd.
July 21 2014 - 8:00AM
Polypore International, Inc. (NYSE:PPO), announced today that the
United States District Court for the Western District of North
Carolina has granted a motion by Celgard, LLC ("Celgard"), a
subsidiary of Polypore International, Inc., for a preliminary
injunction against LG Chem, Ltd. and LG Chem America, Inc.
(collectively "LG"). The judge's order granting the injunction is
currently under seal; portions of the order may be released in the
future at the court's discretion.
Celgard had requested a preliminary injunction to prohibit the
importation, sale or offer for sale in the United States and
inducement of others to use, sell or offer for sale lithium-ion
batteries, including batteries used in electric drive vehicles and
consumer electronics, which contain LG's ceramic coated lithium-ion
battery separator, until a full trial on the matter is concluded.
The lawsuit and motion for injunction are based on Celgard's
assertion that LG infringes Celgard's patent (United States Patent
No. 6,432,586), which claims ceramic composite layer lithium-ion
battery separators first developed by Celgard for high-energy
rechargeable lithium-ion batteries.
About Polypore International, Inc.
Polypore International, Inc. is a global high technology
filtration company specializing in microporous membranes.
Polypore's flat sheet and hollow fiber membranes are used in
specialized applications that require the removal or separation of
various materials from liquids, primarily in the ultrafiltration
and microfiltration markets. Based in Charlotte, N.C., Polypore
International, Inc. is a market leader with manufacturing
facilities or sales offices in nine countries serving six
continents. See www.polypore.net.
Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains statements that are forward-looking in
nature. Statements that are predictive in nature, that depend upon
or refer to future events or conditions or that include words such
as "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes,"
"estimates," and similar expressions are forward-looking
statements. These statements involve known and unknown risks,
uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results
and performance to be materially different from any future results
or performance expressed or implied by these forward-looking
statements. These factors include the following: the highly
competitive nature of the markets in which we sell our products;
the failure to continue to develop innovative products; the loss of
our customers; the vertical integration by our customers of the
production of our products into their own manufacturing processes;
increases in prices for raw materials or the loss of key supplier
contracts; our substantial indebtedness; interest rate risk related
to our variable rate indebtedness; our inability to generate cash;
restrictions contained in our senior secured credit agreement;
employee slowdowns, strikes or similar actions; product liability
claims exposure; risks in connection with our operations outside
the United States, including compliance with applicable
anti-corruption laws; the incurrence of substantial costs to comply
with, or as a result of violations of, or liabilities under
environmental laws; the failure to protect our intellectual
property; the loss of senior management; the incurrence of
additional debt, contingent liabilities and expenses in connection
with future acquisitions; the failure to effectively integrate
newly acquired operations; lithium market demand not materializing
as anticipated; the absence of expected returns from the intangible
assets we have recorded; and natural disasters, epidemics,
terrorist acts and other events beyond our control. Additional
information concerning these and other important factors can be
found in the "Risk Factors" section of our most recent Annual
Report on Form 10-K and subsequent reports filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission. Such forward-looking statements
speak only as of the date of this press release. Polypore expressly
disclaims any obligation to release publicly any updates or
revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to
reflect any change in Polypore's expectations with regard thereto
or change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any
statement is based.
CONTACT: Polypore International, Inc.
Paul Clegg
Investor Relations
(704) 587-8886
investorrelations@polypore.net