Recently in Breach of Contract Category

DigiBIRD Battery Supplier Found Liable for Fraud, Unfair Trade Practices and Breach of Contract

ION Geophysical Corporation (NYSE: IO) today announced that on October 1, 2009, the jury returned a verdict in its favor in a lawsuit filed by ION against operating subsidiaries of battery manufacturer Greatbatch, Inc. (NYSE: GB), including its Electrochem division, in the 24th Judicial District Court for the Parish of Jefferson in the State of Louisiana.

ION filed the lawsuit in 2002, alleging that Greatbatch had fraudulently misappropriated ION's product designs and other trade secrets related to the batteries and battery pack used in ION's DigiBIRD® marine towed streamer vertical control device and used ION's information to manufacture and market competing batteries and battery packs. The jury found that Greatbatch committed fraud, violated the Louisiana Unfair Trade Practices Act and breached a trust and nondisclosure agreement between Greatbatch and ION, and awarded ION $21,733,411 in damages. In addition to the jury award, ION will be entitled to recover its attorneys' fees and costs related to the case, along with prejudgment interest accruing from the date of filing of the lawsuit.

SOURCE ION Geophysical Corporation

On October 26th, 2007, a three member American Arbitration Association panel unanimously found the Pennsbury School District liable for wrongfully terminating and breaching its contract with Milestone Construction Management, Inc. and wrongfully withholding payments to Milestone in bad faith. The Bucks County, Pennsylvanian school district was ordered to pay over $1,000,000.00 in damages to Milestone and to Milestone's bonding company. In addition, the panel ordered the school district to indemnify Milestone in an amount not to exceed $333,352.39 for payments made by the bonding company to several of Milestone's subcontractors and suppliers. On December 30, 2008, the court granted Milestone Construction Management's Motion to Compel Pennsbury School District to proceed back to arbitration to finalize the claim of indemnity based on the amount Milestone Construction was required to pay Centennial Insurance Company under the indemnity agreement.

The Arbitrators' decision was handed down after more than thirty days of testimony involving dozens of witnesses.

The school district contracted with Milestone in the Spring of 2003 to perform the general construction for additions and alterations to Manor Elementary School, located in Levittown, PA. Despite significant problems with the plans and specifications that had been prepared by the Architect, Daley and Jalboot, and delays in obtaining required permits, the school was open and ready for the start of the 2003-2004 school year.

Milestone is represented by Bruce L. Phillips, esquire, of Venzie, Phillips and Warshawer, in Philadelphia.

Milestone Construction Management, founded in 1999 by Rocco Cavallo, is a full service construction management firm, providing a wide range of preconstruction and construction services throughout the Delaware Valley.

SOURCE Milestone Construction Management