The last of more than 100 repetitive-stress injury lawsuits filed against Key Tronic Corp. have been dismissed, the Spokane-based electronics contract manufacturer says in its latest quarterly report.


Key Tronic says the final 15 suits, all filed by computer keyboard users in state or federal court in New York, were dismissed during the quarter ended March 30, which was the companys 2002 third fiscal quarter. A total of 123 similar suits filed against Key Tronic in 13 states were dismissed earlier.


Its good to have them behind us, says Ron Klawitter, Key Tronics chief financial officer.


None of ours ever went to trial, he says. The history has been that they (plaintiffs lawyers) were not being successful. They were trying to settle for token amounts, and we wouldnt even settle them for that.


The prolonged legal battle didnt cost Key Tronic anything because all of its legal expenses were covered by insurance, Klawitter says.


All of the suits, some of which date back more than a decade, alleged that specific keyboards produced by the company were sold with manufacturing, design, and warning defects that caused or contributed to injuries.


The alleged injuries werent identified specifically, but are referred to generally as repetitive-stress injuries or cumulative-trauma disorders. One type of repetitive-stress injury is carpal tunnel syndrome, which can involve wrist pain, numbness, burning, and a pins-and-needles sensation and is said to be caused by years of performing the same task. Carpal tunnel was reported in the 1980s and 1990swhen many of the suits were filed against Key Tronicto be hitting U.S. industry hard, with thousands of workers compensation claims being based on it. U.S. Department of Labor statistics, though, have shown the total number of such disorders to be declining since 1994.


The emergence of those types of disorders led Key Tronic and other keyboard makers to develop ergonomic keyboards that are designed to reduce repetitive-stress injuries. Such keyboards typically are designed to keep a persons wrists as close to an unbent, position as possible while he or she is using the keyboard.


Key Tronic had said repeatedly in its financial reports that it believed it had valid defenses against the repetitive-stress suits and would defend itself. It said also that it didnt expect the suits to have a material adverse effect on its financial position, but that because of the inherent uncertainty of litigation and other unknowns, that outlook could change.


The suits sought compensatory and, in some cases, punitive damages. Key Tronic had said in the past that any compensatory damages awarded might be covered by insurance, but that the punitive damages might not be.


Over about the last five years, 33-year-old Key Tronic has been shifting its focus from the intensely competitive keyboard manufacturing market to whats called electrical manufacturing services (EMS), or the contract design and manufacturing of a range of electronic devices for other companies. It said in its latest quarterly report that 90 percent of its revenue for that quarter came from EMS work, compared with about 70 percent in the year-earlier period.


Key Tronic employs a total of about 2,100 people at facilities here; in Juarez and Reynosa, Mexico; Las Cruces, N.M.; and Shanghai, China.