Aug 20 2008
Indianapolis-based company' that refurbishes and sells dental lasers to dentists across the country' filed a lawsuit today in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District' of Indiana against a California company it says is damaging competition and' affecting consumers in the hard tissue dental laser market.
National Laser Technology, Inc. (NLT) filed the suit against' California-based Biolase Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq: BLTI) seeking' compensatory and punitive damages. The complaint also requests a' preliminary and permanent injunction barring Biolase from engaging in any' further anticompetitive conduct, from making false and misleading' statements, and from retaliating against NLT. NLT is represented by Barnes' & Thornburg LLP.
The complaint alleges that Biolase, which has a market share of more' than 85 percent, uses its monopoly power to coerce dentists to purchase' products from Biolase at double the price offered by NLT, thus maintaining' and increasing its monopoly. NLT alleges that as part of a campaign to put' NLT out of business, Biolase threatens dentists by refusing to sell them' laser tips and other necessary products if the dentists do business with' NLT, and threatens to cut off trainers and other vendors who provide' services to NLT customers. The complaint also asserts that Biolase has made' false and misleading statements to dentists about NLT's products.
"We have high quality products to sell at low cost to compete with' Biolase, but have been limited in our ability to provide these products to' dentists because of the actions alleged in the complaint," NLT CEO Alan' Miller said. "We reluctantly brought this case because these actions have' caused significant harm to NLT and to dentists."
The case is National Laser Technology, Inc. v. Biolase Technology,' Inc., 08-cv-1123, (S.D. Ind. Aug. 20, 2008).