Undercurrent Scuba Diving Magazine: Grey Market,... -
[Cached Version]
Published on: 3/3/2001
Last Visited: 7/30/2001
The latest skirmishes began last April , when Johnson Worldwide Associates , the owner of Scubapro , sued Leisure Pro , a major mail order supplier of dive gear , and Cindi Walters , a past DEMA board member who does business as Cal Pacific Manufacturing.While the primary charge is that Walters manufactured counterfeit and dangerous Scubapro SeaHawk BCs and Leisure Pro sold them , other elements of the lawsuit may affect more people.
The basic charge of the lawsuit , taken from documents filed by JWA , alleges that :.
From 1995 until 1997 , Cal Pacific was JWA's manufacturer for the SeaHawk BC , using tools belonging to JWA.In September , 1997 , JWA informed Ms. Walters that it was moving its production to another facility and expected final delivery in December , 1997.Cal Pacific had possession of the BC tooling until April , 1998.
From consumers , JWA learned of counterfeits on the market and purchased one.
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We called Cindi Walters to discuss the suit with her , but she has not returned our calls.Eugene Mendelorts , President of Leisure Pro , said that Leisure Pro was settling with each side individually and would soon be out of the suit , leaving only Walters in contention.