Omega Flex, Inc. Wins Second Consecutive Jury Trial in Lightning Strike Case


MIDDLETOWN, Conn., Sept. 10, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Omega Flex, Inc. (Nasdaq:OFLX) today announced that the Company secured another successful federal jury verdict in Nationwide Mutual Fire Insurance Company a/s/o Thornton v. Omega Flex, Inc. The case involved a June 2009 lightning fire to a house in Trumbull, Connecticut. The homeowners' insurance company sued Omega Flex alleging its TracPipe® corrugated stainless steel tubing (CSST) product was defective because it could not withstand damage from lightning.

Omega Flex proved those claims were false and that the plaintiffs' case was built on junk science that could not stand up to rational scrutiny. The Company showed that the TracPipe® CSST was improperly installed without the required electrical bonding wire, thereby leaving the home exposed to lightning damage. The jury unanimously found for Omega Flex on all counts and awarded the plaintiff insurance company nothing in damages.

This was the second time this year a jury unanimously rejected an insurance company's attempt to seek reimbursement from Omega Flex for lightning claims they paid out to their policyholders. After years of use by millions of homeowners and numerous independent studies, the evidence proves TracPipe® CSST is not uniquely susceptible to damage from a lightning current that may enter a home and no properly bonded CSST system has experienced a fire caused by indirect lightning. In fact, CSST has a superior overall safety record as compared to other appliances or equipment. Omega Flex will continue to vigorously defend itself against frivolous claims about its safety.

About TracPipe® CounterStrike® CSST

TracPipe® CounterStrike® from Omega Flex, Inc. is designed to be more resistant to damage from transient electrical arcing than conventional gas piping materials. In a lightning strike, the electrical energy of the lightning can energize all electrical and mechanical components in a building. This electrical energy, in attempting to reach ground, may arc between systems that have different electrical potential, and arcing can cause damage to any of these systems. TracPipe® CounterStrike® is designed with an electrically conductive jacket to dissipate this energy, protecting the gas-carrying stainless steel core.

About Omega Flex, Inc.

Established in 1975, Omega Flex, Inc. is the pre-eminent international producer of flexible metallic piping products. With more than 90 patents registered worldwide, Omega Flex® supplies proprietary products for a broad number of applications and markets, which include primary steel production, semi-conductor, medical, pharmaceutical, petrochemical, residential, residential and commercial construction, and power generation.

Omega Flex®, TracPipe®, CounterStrike® and AutoFlare® are registered trademarks of Omega Flex, Inc. All rights reserved. For more information, visit www.omegaflex.com.



            

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