Two Houston men are suing their employer, a specialty tools and technical solutions developer, and an attorney, alleging breach of contract related to patent payments.
Jerry Swinford and Jason Swinford filed a lawsuit Aug. 14 in the Houston Division of the Southern District of Texas against Coil Tubing Technology Inc. (CTT) and attorney John N. Brugger, alleging breach of contract, defamation, disparagement and libel.
According to the complaint, Jerry Swinford sold several of his patented inventions to CTT for an agreed-upon $5 million, a transaction for which Brugger, whose "significant other" is a CTT investor, served as adviser to Jerry Swinford. The suit says CTT has not followed through on the agreement and still owes Swinford approximately $3.75 million.
The lawsuit further alleges Brugger wishes to obtain the patents at no cost and has revealed in communications with Jerry Swinford that he spoke with "a number of shareholders and they have authorized me to proceed in any manner I deem best to bring self-dealing claims against Jason Swinford and Jerry Swinford," who are both CTT board members.
The lawsuit states Brugger has and continues to damage the Swinfords' reputation with defamatory and false statements.
The Swinfords seek all recoverable damages, injunctive relief, and attorney fees. They are represented by attorney Eric Lipper of Hirsch & Westheimer in Houston.
Houston Division of the Southern District of Texas case number 4:15-cv-02368.