October 14, 2009 (FinancialWire) — DENTSPLY International Inc. (NASDAQ: XRAY) announced that on Friday, October 9, in a case pending in the U.S. District Court in New Mexico between DENTSPLY and Guidance Endodontics (a small New Mexico-based company), a jury on a 6-3 vote, returned a verdict against DENTSPLY in the amount of approximately $4 million for compensatory and $40 million in punitive damages.

The company also stated that it believes this decision is clearly not supported by the facts in the case nor the applicable law and intends to vigorously pursue all available options to challenge it.

The case centered on an alleged breach of contract under a 2008 agreement between DENTSPLY and Guidance Endodontics. Prior to trial, Guidance Endodontics had claimed that it had damages of approximately $1.2 million as a result of the alleged breach. DENTSPLY believes that it did not breach the contract nor act unlawfully in any manner, and that the award of punitive damages is completely unwarranted and contrary to applicable law. DENTSPLY believes that the decision should be overturned and will pursue post trial actions to that end. DENTSPLY does not expect the outcome of this case to have a material adverse effect on its financial condition.

DENTSPLY designs, develops, manufactures and markets a broad range of products for the dental market. The company believes that it is the world’s leading manufacturer and distributor of dental prosthetics, precious metal dental alloys, dental ceramics, endodontic instruments and materials, prophylaxis paste, dental sealants, ultrasonic scalers, and crown and bridge materials; the leading United States manufacturer and distributor of dental handpieces, dental x-ray film holders, film mounts and bone substitute/grafting materials; and a leading worldwide manufacturer or distributor of dental implants, impression materials, orthodontic appliances, dental cutting instruments, infection control products, and dental injectable anesthetics. The company distributes its dental products in over 120 countries under some of the most well-established brand names in the industry.

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