Weyerhaeuser Company (NYSE: WY) said it would appeal a portion of a verdict rendered yesterday in favor of Washington Alder by a jury in U.S. District Court in Portland, Ore. As part of the same verdict, however, the jury unanimously found in favor of Weyerhaeuser when it determined that the plaintiff failed to prove a case that there was monopolization of an alder saw log market or damages after December 2001.

  (Logo:  http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040116/WYLOGO-a
          http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040116/WYLOGO-b )

The jury was instructed by the trial judge that Weyerhaeuser had monopolized a claimed alder saw log market in the Pacific Northwest from June 1999 to December 2001, based on an earlier case that is currently under review by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. The court dismissed an alternative claim that Weyerhaeuser had monopolized an alleged alder lumber market.

As a result, Weyerhaeuser will take an after-tax charge of about $10.5 million, or 4 cents per share, in the second quarter.

The jury in Portland awarded damages of $5,287,743, which under applicable law will be trebled to $15,863,229 before taxes. Weyerhaeuser will post a bond to cover the jury award pending appeal.

"We are pleased the jury ruled in our favor that we did not monopolize the alder saw log market," said Robert A. Dowdy, Weyerhaeuser senior vice president and general counsel. "The judge's instructions precluded the jury from ruling on that question for the period 1999 to 2001 based on an earlier verdict that is on appeal. We believe that the monopolization issues will ultimately be decided in favor of Weyerhaeuser and that this verdict and the earlier one will be reversed on appeal. In the meantime, we will continue to vigorously defend ourselves."

Weyerhaeuser Company, one of the world's largest integrated forest products companies, was incorporated in 1900. In 2003, sales were $19.9 billion. It has offices or operations in 18 countries, with customers worldwide. Weyerhaeuser is principally engaged in the growing and harvesting of timber; the manufacture, distribution and sale of forest products; and real estate construction, development and related activities. Additional information about Weyerhaeuser's businesses, products and practices is available at http://www.weyerhaeuser.com/ .

Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040116/WYLOGO-a
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040116/WYLOGO-b
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com

SOURCE: Weyerhaeuser Company

CONTACT: media, Bruce Amundson, +1-253-924-3047, or investors,
Kathryn McAuley, +1-253-924-2058, both of Weyerhaeuser Company

Web site: http://www.weyerhaeuser.com/