Sleep Country can sleep easier after judge dismisses conspiracy lawsuit
Neal Hall, Vancouver Sun
Published: Friday, November 06, 2009
VANCOUVER - The owners of the Sleep Country chain of stores should sleep easier after a B.C. Supreme Court judge dismissed allegations that the company conspired with a mattress supplier to put a competitor out of business.
Canadian Bedding Company Ltd. took legal action against the supplier of Serta mattresses, Western Sleep Products Ltd., and Sleep Country Canada Inc., claiming the supplier failed to supply Canadian Bedding with the latest line of Serta products on a timely basis, and no later than those products were supplied to Sleep Country.
Canadian Bedding also claimed that Sleep Country conspired against Canadian Bedding to cause it to shut down its Serta-only operations.
Canadian Bedding opened a number of outlets in 2005 under the name Serta Sit N Sleep, which sold only Serta mattress products under an agreement with Western.
The company claims that Sleep Country, which sells mattresses made by a number of different companies, including Serta, at its 133 stores across Canada, conspired with Western to prevent Canadian Bedding from competing in the marketing and sales of the most popular and profitable Serta products.
Canadian Bedding eventually went out of business in 2006.
In a ruling released this week, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Bruce Butler ruled that "the claims advanced by Canadian Bedding under both branches of the conspiracy test against Sleep Country and Western are dismissed."
The judge also ordered Canadian Bedding to pay Western an inventory debt in the amount of $621,430, plus contractual interest at 24 per cent.
Canadian Bedding also has to pay the court costs of Western and Sleep Country.
The judgment is available online: http://www.courts.gov.bc.ca/jdb-txt/SC/09/14/2009BCSC1499.htm
nhall@vancouversun.com
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