Diamond Triumph Auto Glass, Inc. Announces Favorable Developments on Discovery Issues in Safelite Lawsuit

KINGSTON, Pa., Oct. 31, 2003 -- On October 14, 2003, the Honorable James Munley of the United States District Court, Middle District of Pennsylvania, in Scranton, PA, entered a ruling on several motions made to the Court regarding Safelite's production of various records and information, including the production of Safelite's Call Center Recordings to Diamond Triumph as part of the discovery proceedings of Diamond Triumph's lawsuit filed against Safelite.

The ruling ordered Safelite to produce audio recordings of incoming and outgoing Call Center Telephone Calls for two calendar months, to be chosen by Diamond Triumph, up to a total of one million telephone calls. The copying of those audio recordings will be done at Safelite's expense, and the audio recordings will be produced in their entirety without any redaction.

The recordings are not limited to calls involving only Diamond Triumph. Diamond Triumph argued, and the Court ultimately agreed that Safelite's activities, relative to all Glass Vendors, is relevant to the dispute. As a result, Diamond Triumph's legal representation will be permitted to review all of Safelite's Call Center interactions with consumers for the two months chosen by Diamond Triumph.

"We normally do not issue Press Releases regarding any active litigation; however, we felt we had no choice but to respond to Safelite's recent Press Releases regarding the Judge's ruling," said Michael Sumsky, President and General Counsel for Diamond Triumph.

"We are pleased with the scope of the ordered discovery. Safelite was seeking to have the Judge significantly restrict discovery to only the certain incidents identified within the Complaint, and their position was rejected by the Court. Most importantly, the Order compels Safelite to produce records and materials that we have sought for a long time. Safelite has asserted a victory with the Judge's ruling; however, it is hard to imagine someone claiming victory when they asked to produce only twenty five call center recordings and were ordered to produce up to one million recordings impacting Diamond Triumph, as well as other Glass Providers," Sumsky added.

The Court also issued a Confidentiality Order which provides the framework for protecting information exchanged as part of the litigation, including the information of insurers and their policyholders.

Michael Sumsky concluded, "We are very pleased with the Court entering a separate Order protecting confidential information. From the early stages of this litigation, we have always agreed to reasonable restrictions on the access of confidential and private information. Unfortunately, these discussions have appeared to have been intentionally prolonged as a means to delay the discovery process. The Court's separate Order on confidentiality will hopefully not only address everyone's concerns, but also prompt a more orderly flow to the discovery proceedings."

Diamond Triumph Auto Glass, Inc., headquartered in Kingston, PA, is a leading provider of automotive glass replacement and repair services. Diamond Triumph currently operates 276 company owned automotive glass service centers, approximately 1,100 mobile installation vehicles and six distribution centers in 46 states. For more information about Diamond Triumph, visit the website at www.diamondtriumph.com.