UPDATE TO OOIDA LAWSUIT AGAINST PRIME

In an important recent development, the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri denied OOIDA's motion for Class Certification in the pending action against Prime. OOIDA, a non-profit trade organization, had originally filed the complaint against the company in 1997 alleging federal leasing violations.

According to Steve Crawford, Prime's General Counsel, "Basically when the Court denied the class certification, it eliminated absent owner operators for the case. This is exactly the ruling we had anticipated in connection with this matter. Although we expect OOIDA to petition for appeal, we have a great deal of confidence in the Court's ruling and basis upon which it was made." Crawford continued, "While this decision could end this protracted litigation, it has not given us the opportunity to address the underlying allegations, which we maintain are without merit."

Crawford stressed that attorney's for Prime have done "an excellent job representing the interests of our company." Prime is represented by Jim Sullivan of Shugart, Thompson & Kilroy, Kansas City, Missouri as well as Arthur Curtis of Greene and Curtis, Springfield, Missouri.