Band Ad Battle Ends in $21 Mil. Verdict

DALLAS Brooks Mays Music Co. is considering whether to appeal a $21 million jury verdict that it damaged a competitor through false advertising, attorneys said.

The verdict in U.S. District Court in Boston Dec. 2 found that Dallas-based Brooks Mays, a 104-year-old company with 63 stores in eight states, conducted a campaign to prevent music students, band directors and others from buying instruments from First Act Inc. of Boston through Wal-Mart and other retailers.

The plaintiff filed the civil action in 2003 after Brooks Mays launched what First Act called “a smear campaign” that claimed its lower-priced instruments were of inferior quality and that replacement parts would be difficult to find.