SANTERAMO IN COLLE BARI, Italy — Leather upholstery manufacturer Natuzzi may appeal a

Hong Kong court’s dismissal of a lawsuit it had filed against competitor DeCoro over design and hiring issues, according to a statement issued by Natuzzi.
 
On Jan. 16, the High Court of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Court dismissed the suit, which has been contested for years. Natuzzi had accused DeCoro of “pirating” three Natuzzi product design employees as well as a series of sofa models.

The action began in April 2001, Natuzzi said, when it obtained an interim injunction from another Hong Kong court to restrain DeCoro from employing a former senior Natuzzi employee who had a non-compete clause in his contract.

According to Natuzzi, a contempt application is still pending in Hong Kong against DeCoro and its president and CEO, Luca Ricci, for allegedly breaching the court injunction by hiring the former employee despite the non-compete clause.

In response, Heath Corso, executive vice president of sales and marketing for DeCoro said, “We are pleased and vindicated by the court decision and confident any further appeals would meet with the same results.”