Rexhall Says Lawsuit Thrown Out by Judge

Rexhall Industries Inc., a Saugus maker of motor homes, said a federal judge threw out a lawsuit against the company that was brought by Thor Industries Inc. and its Airstream Inc. motor-home unit.

The suit, filed in July, 1990, had sought $10 million in damages and alleged, among other things, that Rexhall’s use of the brand name “Airex” for its motor homes infringed on the Airstream name and its trademarks.

But U. S. District Judge J. Spencer Letts in Los Angeles granted Rexhall’s motion that the suit be dismissed, Rexhall said.

Representatives of Thor, based in Jackson Center, Ohio, could not be reached for comment.

The suit also had named as a defendant Herbert F. Boeckmann, a San Fernando Valley businessman who owns the Ford dealership Galpin Motors in North Hills. Boeckmann also formerly owned Establishment Industries, a motor-home maker in San Fernando that employed William J. Rex before Rex co-founded Rexhall with Charles A. Hall in 1986.

Boeckmann sold Establishment to Thor in 1985 for about $5.7 million and, according to the suit, Boeckmann also agreed not to compete against Thor for five years. But Thor alleged that Boeckmann broke that agreement by helping Rexhall buy motor-home chassis from Ford Motor Co., a claim that Boeckmann had denied.