Statement from Cooper Tire & Rubber Company :Re Enrongate

FINDLAY, Ohio, May 10 - Cooper Tire & Rubber Company attributed today's drop in its stock price to media reports about false allegations that management directed an employee to destroy documents in conjunction with an individual personal injury lawsuit.

These false allegations were given to the media as part of a litigation strategy conducted by plaintiff lawyers who are suing Cooper in a wrongful death action in Federal Court in Arkansas.

investigation shows there was no management involvement in the destruction of documents and that documents were destroyed by two low-level, non-management, rogue employees who were operating on their own.

The employee left the company in October of 2001 and gave an affidavit to her lawyers that described her destruction of documents.

The company says there is no reason to believe that the documents the employee says she destroyed have any relevance to any current or past litigation.

The company has already produced 21,000 pages of materials and 23 of its employees have been deposed in this litigation, which is a clear indication of Cooper's commitment to complying with proper discovery requests.

The case involves a 1998 accident in Brinkley, Arkansas that involved a Cooper tire. The company says the tire was six years old, with 25,000 miles, and had suffered a puncture in service.

A mediation is going on in Little Rock, Arkansas today concerning the case, which is set for trial on May 20.

Finally, the company reaffirms its guidance of second quarter earnings for 2002 of 45 to 50 cents a share and that this litigation is not material to the company's financial position.

Company Description

Cooper Tire & Rubber Company is headquartered in Findlay, Ohio and specializes in the manufacture and marketing of automotive products. Products for Cooper Tire include automotive, motorcycle and truck tires, inner tubes, tread rubber and equipment. Cooper-Standard Automotive is an original equipment supplier of sealing, trim, NVH control systems and fluid handling systems for the automotive industry in North America, Europe, Australia and South America. Cooper has more than 20,000 employees and 52 manufacturing facilities in 13 countries. For more information, visit the Company's web site at: www.coopertire.com .