A Massachusetts court has granted permission for a lawsuit by American scallop supplier Mar-Lees Seafood against its former owner to move forward, with a pre-trial conference scheduled for 15 April.
There is no trial date yet, but Mar-Lees attorney David Bowles called the ruling in Suffolk County Superior Court “a vindication” for his client. Mar-Lees is suing former owner John Lees, his attorney, Michael Sweeney, and 10 other defendants on a number of claims including fraud.
“We have long believed the company has a strong case against Mr. Lees and Mr. Sweeney and we look forward to discover further facts about the behavior of these defendants that will prove they acted wrongfully during and after the sale of Mar-Lees Seafood,” Bowles said in a statement.
The 2012 complaint lists a total of 23 claims. In addition to fraud, the suit accuses Lees and the other defendants of breach of fiduciary duty, violations of the unfair and deceptive acts and practices act, breach of duty of good faith and fair dealing and disclosure of trade secrets. Mar-Lees has maintained that Lees fraudulently inflated the value of the company during negotiations for its sale to new investors. The company further claimed Lees and his business partners failed to disclose to the new investors they had competing interests while negotiating employment and consulting agreements after the sale.
