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What happened with Dutchman
and the FTC
Dennis Lee and
Dutchman Win Round Against FTC
In a major victory
for the science of hydrogen-boost related systems, Dennis Lee and Dutchman
Enterprises were exonerated after a month of being shut down by an FTC temporary
restraining order for their super-mileage claims.
by
Sterling D. Allan
Pure Energy Systems News
Copyright © 2009
After a month of having
their assets and website frozen by a US Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
injunction,
Dennis Lee and Dutchman Enterprises were exonerated Wednesday by NJ Federal
Judge,
Michael Shipp who ruled in favor of Lee and Dutchman, who have been selling
a "Hydrogen
Assist Fuel Cell" (HAFC) that they "guarantee" to improve mileage by at
least 50%. Lee is free of all encumbrances.
In a thirteen page statement meticulously explaining his reasons, the judge
apparently pointed out that the FTC's charge was inadequate, and that the expert
witness opinion by FTC's physicist, Dr. Halperin, was trumped by the internal
combustion expert witness who spoke in defense of Dutchman. The physicist who
the FTC produced as a key witness, was not an expert in internal combustion
engines, and had given his opinion that the claims being made by Lee's group
were "impossible" to achieve. The judge pointed out that Halperin never had
gotten a HAFC kit, never put it together, never tested it, never ran data. The
defense, on the other hand, had produced a great deal of evidence in support of
their claim, with an expert witness who specializes in internal combustion
engines.
The overwhelming number of positive testimonies, the "Orange Test"
before-and-after documentation and the ironclad affidavit swayed the judge to
quickly decide that Dutchman Enterprises was indeed being unjustly railroaded.
Kurt Anaheim, a dealer of the HAFC kit, says that they have seen "hundreds if
not thousands of gasoline powered cars and trucks getting 50% or more mileage
gain". (Ref.)
Dr. Halperin admitted to Dutchman's attorney that he does not have a Ph.D. in
engine technology, and acknowledged that his expertise and his report was based
on his background in Cryogenics. In continued cross examination, the attorney
asked Halperin other questions revealing that Halperin knew very little about
how an internal combustion engine worked, and in particular had no knowledge of
the very short period of time there is to get energy out of the fuel while it's
burning in the piston chamber during the power stroke of the engine, or that
this is the only time the burn puts any power to the wheels. (Ref.)
Regarding the "expert" testimony that such mileage improvements were
"impossible," one of the points that Lee's defense argued to the judge was
something to the effect: "Do you think the President of the United States and
his advisors don't know what they're talking about when they call for an
increase in the mileage of the nation's vehicles, expecting at least a 10 mpg
improvement?"
Anaheim says: "Our Hydro Assist Fuel Cell technology prepares and volatizes the
fuel prior to burning so that it burns more completely during that short
duration of the power stroke, producing more power, which we are able to convert
to economy, while reducing pollution." (Ref.)
In a conference call last night with his extensive network, Lee took three hours
to describe the situation: what led up to it, how it unfolded, the ramifications
for himself and the company, then taking questions from his listeners.
"We tore him up on the stand," he said, regarding the "expert" physicist
witness.
This is only the second time in New Jersey's history that the FTC has lost a
case. What makes this more astonishing is the extent to which they tied Lee and
Dutchman's hands behind their backs, even going so far as freezing Lee's
personal bank account. In the process of interviewing lawyers for his defense,
Lee recounted how one after another would cower in fear, telling him there is no
way he could win against the FTC -- that the FTC always gets their way, even if
they're wrong. "All you had to do was say 'FTC', and lawyers were shaking in
their boots."
Lee, who has been in court twelve times now, but who has never had a trial by
jury, remarked that finally he had experienced justice being served, not
miscarried.
Since at least the early 1990s, Lee has been having one run-in after another
with government agencies who accuse him of some kind of fraud, yet who have
never proven the same in a court of law. He views these actions as being
inspired by the good ol' boy's club, in bed with big oil and the auto makers to
suppress the emergence of technologies that move us toward kicking our addiction
to oil. So with this case victory, he said, "It's always nice to win against the
DC Mafia".
Lee expects that the FTC will try to appeal this, to save face; and he said he
is prepared to go the distance. He told those on the call: "You and I should be
unrelenting. The truth for me is worth dying for. There is nothing they can
threaten me with that will cause me to bend my knee to injustice."
At the same time, he said he is prepared to offer the FTC a graceful way to back
out, admitting that they had made a mistake -- in which case Lee would stand
down. "The smartest thing they could do is say, 'We made a mistake, we got a
guy..., he screwed up, we're going to back down."
But if they persist, he is prepared to file a class action suit on behalf of all
his dealers and himself who have been seriously financially impaired by the
temporary injunction, as well as maligned.
Dutchman took a major hit in the process, losing $750,000 USD in an inventory
fire sale. They now have nothing. However, that will not keep the dealers from
being able to move forward, due to the way the company was set up, thanks to a
sister company that is able to keep things rolling.
Lee is willing to forgive the $750k loss if the FTC will admit its mistake and
go away so they can get on with their business. "Dutchman isn't in this for the
money. It won't go after the money if we can just get on with life." He said he
actually looks forward to getting out among the car dealerships and mechanic
training classes to help promote the technology on the ground.
Lee emphasized the many inconveniences caused by the month-long injunction, with
employees not being paid, dealers almost losing their livelihood, suppliers not
being paid, manufacturers not being paid -- and everyone being treated with
suspicion as if they were part of some scam. "We have a strong case for slander
... and possibly malfeasance." Lee reported that in the process of this action,
agents had taken proprietary documents not related to this case.
"They accuse us of misrepresentation, yet they themselves are guilty of
misrepresentation."
Assets were frozen and all sales had to be stopped, and the company was
virtually decimated. Yesterday, with the funds being unfrozen, Lee immediately
paid his employees, and sales are commencing. The
PICC website was taken down, but it will be back up today, paradoxically
Friday the 13th, with the details of this judgment.
There are around 100 manufactures who have "plenty" of HAFC kits for
distribution. The "Genesis Project", which will be carrying the torch, is owned
by the dealers.
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