HOUSTON – A state district lawsuit accuses an ambulance services company of wrongfully forcing out one of its principals.
Harris County resident Frank Kuyela brought the suit against Progressive Ambulance Service, LLC; Mohamed L. Doumbia; and Lawrence Ede on June 21, primarily alleging the defendants committed breach of contract.
Kuyela, Doumbia, and Ede formed Progressive Ambulance in 2011. The plaintiff was reportedly tabbed as a manager and administrator of the company.
Owning 30 percent of the membership interest, Kuyela explains he temporarily removed his name as manager from the business license sometime in late 2015 after failing to timely submit his work authorization card. He said the move was to allow the renewal of their venture’s Medicaid number.
“The defendants assured the plaintiff that the purported relinquishment of his interest was only temporary and for the purpose of obtaining the Medicaid number without delay,” court papers filed in the Harris County 55th District Court say.
According to the original petition, Kuyela’s partners misrepresented to him that “the forfeiture of his interest was necessary to prove that (he) was no longer involved in the company.”
“After Progressive Ambulance received the Medicaid approval, the plaintiff was not reinstated to his previous position by the defendants,” the suit says.
Kuyela further asserts the two men lied to him about meeting to discuss the options available to him regarding his ownership of the company.
He states that the respondents stripped him of access to his email account, the business’s books, and its facilities “without following correct procedures under the Texas Business Organizations Code.”
He did not and has not received payment for his interest, the suit says.
Consequently, the complainant seeks at least $200,000 in damages and a jury trial.
Leslie W. Adams and Lingling E. Dai of the law firm Leslie Wm. Adams & Associates in Houston are representing Kuyela.
Harris County 55th District Court Case No. 2018-41646