Judge Orders No Payment to Haynes, Citing Persistent Pattern and Practice of Fraud PISCATAWAY, N.J., Oct. 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado ruled yesterday in favor of American Standard in Frederick (Fred) Haynes' lawsuit against the company. In Haynes Trane Service Agency, Inc. and Frederick M. Haynes v. American Standard, Inc., d/b/a the Trane Company, which was filed by Haynes in 1995, Frederick Haynes claimed that American Standard and its Trane business had wrongfully terminated an agency agreement with Mr. Haynes. On Dec. 7, 2005, a federal jury returned an advisory verdict recommending that the court award Mr. Haynes $4.78 million on this wrongful termination claim. However, the trial judge was responsible for issuing a final ruling on the merits of this claim, and the judge has now ruled that Mr. Haynes is not entitled to collect any portion of the verdict recommended by the jury. The judge's ruling rested on Mr. Haynes' failure to deal fairly with Trane in connection with Trane's investigation of fraudulent conduct directed against Trane by Haynes Trane Service Agency, Inc. (HTSA), a former distributor of the company's unitary air conditioning business owned by Mr. Haynes. On Dec. 7, 2005, in connection with a claim raised by Trane against HTSA, the federal jury in Colorado concluded that HTSA had defrauded Trane. In denying payment to Haynes in his ruling, Judge Richard Matsch said, "Fred Haynes did not fairly deal with Trane by permitting his employees to engage in a persistent pattern and practice of fraud in obtaining payments under the payback program for distributors of Trane's unitary products and in his adamant and persistent refusal to assist in the investigation of those fraudulent practices and his denial of responsibility for it." "We are pleased with the decision delivered by Judge Matsch today," said Mary Beth Gustafsson, senior vice president and general counsel of American Standard. "Our right to expect honest and ethical behavior from our distributors and business partners has been affirmed." Separately, the U.S. District Court has appointed a special master to quantify the damages to which the company is entitled in its claim of fraud against HTSA. American Standard is a $10.3 billion global manufacturer with market-leading positions in three businesses: air conditioning systems and services, sold under the Trane(R) and American Standard(R) brands for commercial, institutional and residential buildings; bath and kitchen products, sold under brands such as American Standard(R) and Ideal Standard(R); and vehicle control systems, including electronic braking and air suspension systems, sold under the WABCO(R) name to the world's leading manufacturers of heavy-duty trucks, buses, SUVs and luxury cars. The company employs approximately 61,000 people and has manufacturing operations in 28 countries. American Standard is included in both the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Sustainability North America Index, which recognizes the top 20 percent of leaders in corporate sustainability in North America. DATASOURCE: American Standard Companies Inc. CONTACT: Kevin Bryla, +1-732-980-3017, , or Shelly London, +1-732-980-6175, Web site: http://www.americanstandard.com/

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