March 22, 2011 — NSF International on Monday filed for dismissal of a lawsuit against its competitor, the Certified Automotive Parts Association (CAPA), and CAPA Executive Director Jack Gillis.
NSF was seeking an injunction for false and misleading statements in response to an open letter Gillis circulated last July to members of the Automotive Body Parts Association (ABPA). That letter criticized NSF and some of its programs, specifically its Automotive Aftermarket Parts Certification program.
In a settlement agreement, CAPA and Gillis agreed not to make false and defamatory statements of fact about NSF, NSF said in a press release_notes. The company said continued litigation would be a distraction from its work and it wanted to put the matter behind it.
“There should be no doubt in anyone’s mind that NSF International is fully committed to supporting the automotive aftermarket parts industry,” said Bob Frayer of NSF International. “NSF will continue to test and certify the quality and safety of aftermarket automotive parts to ensure that high quality aftermarket safety parts are available to vehicle owners and body shops, and it’s toward that goal that our resources will be focused.”
Gillis maintained that his letter was not defamatory and that it "raised legitimate questions that people should ask about any certification program." He said he was glad to see the lawsuit dropped.
"Litigation has never been a business strategy for CAPA, so I am glad NSF has completely dropped this lawsuit," Gillis said. "At CAPA our efforts have been, and continue to be, totally focused on insuring that the market has a truly independent and effective mechanism to identify parts that are comparable to car company brand parts."
NSF provides product testing and certification and writes public health and safety standards for the food, water and consumer products industries. It operates in more than 120 countries.
CAPA is a nonprofit organization that tests, inspects and certifies automotive parts used for collision repairs.
