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news.Ventana Medical Systems, Inc. (Ventana) has filed a federal civil suit on December 29, 2008 in a US Circuit Court in Arizona against the Watlow Electric Manufacturing Co. (Watlow), alleging the company sold it more than $1 million worth of defective heater cap assemblies that were made in 2007 by Watlow’s plant in Columbia. The complaint seeks damages covering all allegedly defective equipment, attorney fees and other damages.
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As per the complaint, Ventana purchased more than $1 million in heater cap assemblies from Watlow on June 30, 2007. Ventana says it provided its specifications for the products that would become parts for diagnostic equipment used by medical laboratories working with blood samples.
The company claims Watlow changed the specifications for the heater caps and used a different adhesive to attach a foil heater to the underside of a metal plate on the product. Ventana said that within 8 months it began experiencing anomalies in its equipment that it traced to the adhesive, which it says was failing. Ventana contends it had to replace all Watlow products and that Watlow refused to give a refund.
Watlow representatives in Columbia and at its St. Louis headquarters declined to comment on the lawsuit. “You’re not the first person to call, but it’s something where we have not been served, so I have had no chance to review anything,” said Jack Penning, vice president, secretary and general counsel of Watlow.