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This week, Sears Holdings Corp. filed a lawsuit against one manufacturer and lost a suit brought by a different toolmaker.
In a company blog post from May 15, Sears Holdings chairman and CEO Edward Lampert announced that the company would be “taking a stand against” One World Technologies for violating a contract.
One World is a subsidiary of manufacturer Techtronic Industries and has made Craftsman-brand power tools and accessories for more than nine years, Lampert says on the blog. Sears sold its Craftsman company to Stanley Black & Decker earlier this year, but still sells the tool brand in its stores.
The Chicago Tribune also reported this week that a judge ruled against the retailer in a patent lawsuit filed by LoggerHead Tools, a company located in Palos Park, Illinois, that designs hand tools. The LoggerHead lawsuit, filed in 2012, alleges Sears and a manufacturer infringed on the patent of LoggerHead’s Bionic Wrench by making and selling the Craftsman Max Axess Locking Wrench.
A jury awarded LoggerHead $6 million, which is an amount based on the number of Max Axess wrenches that Sears sold since introducing the product in 2012, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Regarding the lawsuit filed this week, Lampert says One World wants to “embarrass us in the media to force us to let them out of their contract.” The manufacturer has expressed concerns about Sears’ ability to pay for products, the Chicago Tribune reports.
“But Sears has nothing to be embarrassed about,” Lampert says in the blog post. “We have lived up to our word under our contract, and we will take the appropriate legal action to protect our rights and ensure that One World honors their contract.”
In an interview with the Chicago Tribune last week, Lampert says Sears is trying to be “proactive” about demonstrating its ability to “drive results” with vendors, customers, employees and investors, but negative media coverage is affecting public opinion of the company.
