Appliance Recyclers Lawsuit: JACO Prevails in ARCA Appeal May 13, 2010

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A U.S. appeals court ruled in favor of JACO Environmental by rejecting an appeal of a summary judgment granted against Appliance Recycling Centers of America (ARCA) in January 2009 by a federal court in California. It's the latest development in a lawsuit originally filed by ARCA in November 2004.

In the lawsuit, ARCA claimed JACO made false and misleading statements about JACO's refrigerator and freezer recycling services to the California Public Utilities Commission and utilities in several states. Specifically, ARCA complained about JACO claims for its system for safely handling contaminated polyurethane foam from refrigerators and freezers.

The Ninth Circuit Court rejected ARCA's claims, upholding a lower court's decision to dismiss those claims on summary judgment and concluding that none of the statements challenged by ARCA satisfied the necessary elements of a false-advertising claim.

"I am delighted that this distraction is behind us so that we can concentrate fully on cost-effective and environmentally-responsible appliance recycling, in which JACO is a recognized leader," said JACO President Terry Jacobsen.

JACO has more than 150 utility contracts in 26 states and it operates 21 recycling facilities throughout the United States. JACO was twice awarded the Stratospheric Ozone Protection Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2004 and a Best of the Best Award in 2007 by the EPA on the 20th anniversary of the Montreal Protocol.

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