Court Rules in Safelite's Favor on Diamond Triumph Litigation Discovery Issues

COLUMBUS, Ohio, Oct. 16, 2003 -- Safelite(R) Glass Corp., a leading provider of property and casualty claims management solutions and the nation's leader in auto glass repair and replacement services, is pleased to announce an important victory in their litigation with Diamond Triumph Auto Glass.

In a ruling entered on October 14, 2003, the Honorable James Munley of the United States District Court, Middle District of Pennsylvania, in Scranton, PA, limited Diamond Triumph's access to information from Safelite. Ruling on motions made to the Court by Safelite and its many insurance clients, the Court ordered that Diamond Triumph could not have unfettered access to all the records it had requested.

The Court limited both the number and the types of documents and materials Diamond Triumph could review and placed restrictions on how they could be used. Specifically, the Court has only allowed Diamond Triumph to review a portion of the Safelite call center recordings it had requested, and specified Diamond Triumph must, at its own expense, copy any information discovered concerning Diamond's claims and turn the information over to Safelite.

At the request of Safelite and its insurance clients, a Confidentiality Order has been issued by the Court specifying that the recordings are to be treated with the highest degree of confidentiality, which means that they can be reviewed only by Diamond's legal advisors. The Confidentiality Order provides the basis for protecting other private information exchanged as part of this litigation, and limits Diamond's ability to share such information with consultants, associations, experts, and others within the glass industry.

The Court further protected the privacy of consumers identified in the call recordings by prohibiting Diamond Triumph from using that information to make contact with those individuals without approval of a Court appointed Special Master.

Also at Safelite's request, the Court limited Diamond Triumph's access to insurer pricing information. The Court order denied Diamond access to "documents relating to the methodology the insurers have used to arrive at those prices."

"We continue to be pleased with the various court rulings regarding discovery in this case," said Mark Smolik, Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary for Safelite. "The Court clearly agreed with Safelite that many of Diamond Triumph's discovery demands were overreaching, irrelevant, and without merit. Judge Munley's decisions significantly narrow the scope of this case -- the Court's decision requires Diamond to be much more specific in their allegations and precise with their proof of those allegations.

"Judge Munley's October 14 order clarifies the issue of discovery, permitting Safelite to move forward in defending the case. We continue to believe Diamond's allegations have no merit and we look forward to facing them in court," Smolik added.

On Monday, October 6, GlassBytes, an auto glass industry website owned by Key Communications, a glass industry trade publisher, erroneously reported that the Court had issued a "stipulation brief" in response to filings regarding discovery in the Diamond Triumph litigation. The article indicated that the Court had ruled in Diamond Triumph's favor on a number of requests when, in fact, the Court had not issued an order on discovery.

"The Court's October 14 ruling serves to correct any inaccurate information that has been reported in the auto glass industry," said Dee Uttermohlen, Corporate Communications Manager for Safelite.

Privately held Safelite Glass Corp. is a leading provider of property and casualty claims management solutions to insurance and fleet companies, and is the nation's largest supplier of auto glass repair and replacement services. Through its Safelite AutoGlass retail operations, the company offers convenient mobile service to more than 85% of the driving public in all 50 states, and provides wholesale glass and distribution services under its Service AutoGlass brand. For more information, please visit the company's web site at www.safelite.com