Defendant non-suited in litigation between business partners

A defendant named in an ongoing suit between two business partners over the sale of stock in their vending machine business has been non-suited.

David Flores filed suit against his business partner Corey Mills on April 27 in Jefferson County District Court. Richard Etheridge and Bertis Carrico were also named as defendants.

However, on Dec. 6 Etheridge was non-suited by Flores, court papers say.

According to a court official, the remaining parties are set to go to trial on Monday, Dec. 12.

The case was set to go to trial on Dec. 7 but was pushed back.

Court records show that Flores and Mills have run O'Mar Amusement, a vending machine business, since 2001.

On June 19, 2009, Etheridge entered into a stock agreement with Mills to transfer 100 shares of his outstanding stock for $715,000. Court papers say $321,800 was paid immediately and the rest was to be paid in weekly installments.

The final installment was paid to Etheridge on April 4, 2011, but he refused to deliver the stock," the suit states, adding that Etheridge, with Mills' approval, sold 50 shares to Carrico - Etheridge's colleague.

In his suit, Flores says that since he and Mills were partners, Mills did not have authority to sell any portion of stock without his consent.

Attorney Michael Truncale of the Beaumont law firm Orgain, Bell & Tucker filed the original petition on behalf of Flores.

Judge Milton Shuffield, 136th District Court, is assigned to the case.

Case No. D191-893