INDIANAPOLIS, April 27, 2020 — Herff Jones, a division of Varsity Brands and the leading provider of graduation and educational products and services designed to inspire achievement and create memorable experiences for students, today announced that the Alabama Supreme Court has upheld its unanimous verdict rendered a year ago in its favor in significant litigation against its biggest competitor, Jostens, Inc. The Alabama Supreme Court’s finding definitively resolves this matter and affirms the jury’s finding that Jostens conspired and stole confidential and trade secret information, and interfered with Herff Jones’ contracts with its sales representatives. Herff Jones will now be receiving a multi-million dollar award as a result of these actions.

Steve Down, president of Herff Jones, stated, “Schools across the country deserve to know that companies selling products to them are doing the right thing, acting as responsible stewards and behaving with fundamental fairness in mind. These attributes are at the heart of any ethical business, and they are more important now than ever as schools look for trustworthy partners to help them navigate this new e-learning landscape. We appreciate the judicious and well-considered affirmation from the Alabama Supreme Court.”

Burton Brillhart, Varsity Brands’ general counsel, added, “Ensuring the integrity of our commercial agreements is vital to our business, and we will always invest the time and resources to protect those interests accordingly. I’m proud of our dedicated internal and outside counsel who got the job done, and share this victory with my colleagues across the Varsity Brands platform.”

Herff Jones was represented by Lynn Pinker Hurst & Schwegmann along with the Kullman Firm, Burr & Forman and FarmerPrice, LLP, in addition to internal legal counsel. The case, which was filed in the Circuit Court of Mobile, Ala. is styled as Herff Jones and Brent Gilbert v Jostens, John Wiggins and Chris Urnis, Circuit Court of Mobile County, Alabama, CASE NO. CV-16-901415.

 

MEDIA CONTACT:
Perry Street Communications
Jonathan Morgan
[email protected]
(214) 965-9955