ALEXANDRIA, VA - SawStop parent SD3's case against Stanley Black & Decker, Ryobi, Hitachi, Bosch and other saw makers was dismissed. Originally filed in February 2014, the antitrust case claimed the saw manufacturers conspired against adopting SawStop safety technology.

Judge Claude Hilton ruled that SD3's claims of a conspiracy by other saw makers to boycott its SawStop  technology were unfounded.

SD3 markets its SawStop technology, which activates a brake if a conductive surface such as  a human hand touches the saw blade. In famous demonstrations, SawStop shows the blade stopping immediately upon encountering a hot dog.

In the case filed by SD3, SawStop's owners said Dr. Stephen Gass, the inventor of the technology, approached the saw companies to license the safety technology in 2000.

In dismissing the case, the judge said the SawStop makers couldn't prove their case against defendants like Ryobi and Black & Decker in particular, because "conspiracy allegations are belied by their negotiating history with varying defendants. [SawStop] allege[s] that they negotiated with defendants Emerson, Ryobi, and Black & Decker, respectively, well after the alleged group boycott began in October 2001. Such history fails to show an agreement to restrain trade," the judge said in his ruling. 

  SD3 also claimed that the companies attempted to prevent the technology from becoming an industry standard. SawStop has appealed the ruling. Read the complete SawStop ruling here.