According to a press release, Sunbelt Rentals, Inc., a member of the Restoration Industry Association (RIA), has contributed $50,000 in matching funds to the Restoration Industry Legal Fund (RLIF) and is challenging other vendors at the upcoming RIA Industry Summit and Exhibition to contribute.

“Sunbelt Rentals has always been a company that gives back to the communities in which we serve,” said Ken Rothmel, Sunbelt’s director of strategic accounts. “We are members of and an integral part of the restoration industry, and supporting the industry and these efforts are the right thing to do.”

RIA filed suit against ThermaPure in Federal Court in the Western District of Washington State to invalidate six of the seven patents held by ThermaPure. These patents, and in particular the “812,” have been used by ThermaPure to sue RIA members and other restoration industry companies. RIA firmly believes that these suits are without merit, as the family of patents involved asserts claims that have been industry standards for years.

The 68^thAnnual RIA Leadership Summit and Industry Expo will take place at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas, NV, from April 23-25.

RIA is soliciting money from both members and non-members to fund this effort, and will make all prior art and case history available to RIA members for their use, should the need arise.

For more information or to contribute to the fund, contact the Restoration Industry Association in Rockville, Maryland, (800) 272-7012 or visit www.restorationindustry.org.