Medical Technology Associates, Inc. vs. Beacon Medical Products, LLC
Jaime Saenz and Alison Kennamer represented medical air gas equipment manufacturer BeaconMedaes, LLC in a business dispute arising out of BeaconMedaes’ termination of its manufacturer’s representative relationship with the plaintiff and hiring of three of its employees, including causes of action for breach of contract, tortious interference with contract, knowing participation in breach of fiduciary duties and breach of fiduciary duties, and fraud. Trial began with jury selection on February 19, 2014, and proceeded through to jury deliberations beginning the morning of March 3, 2014. The jury found that BeaconMedaes breached the parties’ written Manufacturer’s Representative Agreement, was unexcused, with damages of $345,541.00; that BeaconMedaes breached an oral agreement to pay Plaintiff commissions on certain orders quotes but not delivered as of the date of termination of the agreement, causing damages of $151,980.00; that BeaconMedaes breached an oral agreement not to hire MTA’s employees, tortiously interfered with the employees’ non-compete agreements, knowingly participated in the employees’ breach of their fiduciary duties, and that these torts resulted in $1,067,658.00 in damages to MTA; that BeaconMedaes’ profits from knowingly participating in the breaches of fiduciary duties were $3,485,605.00; that BeaconMedaes acted with “malice” and that $5,000,000.00 in punitive damages should be awarded. The jury also found that MTA breached the Manufacturer’s Representative Agreement, but that its breach was excused; that MTA failed to comply with the terms of purchase orders for parts bought and received that resulted in $63,748.00 in damages to BeaconMedaes; that MTA breached fiduciary duties to BeaconMedaes (on two theories), and that those breached caused damages of $68,408.61 under one theory and $150,052.08 under another theory. The case settled for a confidential amount before judgment was entered.
