SOUTHEAST TEXAS RECORD

SHERMAN-A Texas corporation that packages and distributes nutritional liquid products has filed a lawsuit against a Nebraska corporation for not paying for several hundred thousand cases of energy shots.

ActiTech LP filed a breach of contract lawsuit against Fortress Systems, the maker of the energy liquid known as Monster, on May 19 in the Sherman Division of the Eastern District of Texas.

According to the lawsuit, the Fortress Systems retained ActiTech to bottle and distribute a number of Monster cases from September 2008 to July 2009. However, ActiTech states that the defendant has failed to pay the total amounts due for the bottling and packaging services it provided.

ActiTech accuses Fortress Systems of breach of contract and states the company still owes a past due balance of more than $276,000. In addition, the plaintiff states that due to the breach of contract, it has been storing several hundred pallets of Monster cases since May 2009, racking up more than $66,000 in storage fees.

The lawsuit also details that ActiTech spent more than $519,000 on upgrading its equipment to handle the large scale liquid filling operations that the defendant represented that it would order.

Due to the actions of the defendant, ActiTech states that it was sued by Fortress System's broker for breach of contract. ActiTech states that in December 2009, Fortress Systems told ActiTech that it would no longer need to pay for the broker on the account.

Relying on this information, the plaintiff accepted a lower per bottle price. Although the matter was resolved, ActiTech was forced to incur attorney's fees, court costs and settlement costs in defending itself.

ActiTech is asking the court to award more than $862,009 plus accruing storage fees, interest, costs of suit and attorney's fees.

Dallas attorneys John T. Crox III and Alan Dabdoub of Lynn Tillotson Pinker & Cox LLP are representing the plaintiff.

U.S. District Judge Michael H. Schneider is assigned to the litigation.

Case No. 4:10cv00254