Mohawk, Flooring Retailer Hit With $5.4M Judgment

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Mohawk, Flooring Retailer Hit With $5.4M Judgment
Nashville, TN, August 3--A Cool Springs, Tennessee carpet retailer plans to appeal a jury verdict awarding $5.4 million in damages to a competitor, its attorney said Monday. According to a report in the Nashville City Paper, a Williamson County Circuit Court jury Thursday found that Carpet Den of Cool Springs and Mohawk Industries, a nationwide carpet manufacturer, conspired to disrupt the business of Watson’s Carpet & Flooring Coverings, also in Cool Springs. The jury slapped Mohawk and Carpet Den with $1.6 million in compensatory damages and Mohawk with an additional $3.75 million in punitive damages. It’s the largest civil award in Williamson County in at least five years, according to employees in the court clerk’s office. “I assure you that there is going to be an appeals process,” said Alan Turk attorney for Carpet Den. “There are very good, solid reasons to get this case dismissed with no recovery to the plaintiff.” Watson’s Carpet filed a suit in 1999 after Mohawk refused in 1998 to sell the Mohawk brand to Watson’s, which had a deal to sell the carpeting to Centrex Homes. Watson’s attorney, R. Scott Jackson, argued successfully that Carpet Den president Rick McCormick used his friendship with a Mohawk representative to conspire to interfere with Watson’s nine-year relationship with Centrex. “I think it’s going to hold together on appeal. It’s solid,” Jackson said. Mohawk officials argued that they refused to sell to Watson’s because the dealer wasn’t adequately representing their product line. As part of his appeal, Turk says he will argue that Carpet Den shouldn’t be liable for interfering with a business relationship that had no written contracts. He said a two-year-old Supreme Court decision that protects cases involving unwritten agreements shouldn’t be applied back to 1998 events. Jackson said the Supreme Court decision was clearly retroactive and grants broader protections to businesses who are subject to interference for illegitimate reasons.


Related Topics:Mohawk Industries, Coverings