Talk about being tied up in litigation.
An Israeli firm that holds the licensing for valuable cable conversion technology has filed a lawsuit against developers Michael and David Adler over royalty disputes.
The Adler Group principals are being accused of withholding millions of dollars from Cable-X, according to the Daily Business Review.
Cable-X claims that in 2006, Southeast Cable X Holdings LLC sub-licensed its technology to the Miami developers in exchange for $2 million, to be paid in four installments.
“The Adlers found this great technology … and then took steps to exclude the Israelis from the benefits and rights,” Cable-X attorney’s Michael Ehrenstein told the Daily Business Review. The technology allows conversion from coaxial cables to fiber optic by removing the cables’ copper core – without disrupting existing infrastructure.
The plaintiff also accuses the Adlers of trying to bypass the agreement to make a direct deal with Vermarktungsgesellchaft (Vmg), a German company that owns the technology, and then alleges that the Adlers created a competing company, Kabel-X USA LLC.
The Adler Group has a number of large projects underway in Miami-Dade. It is in talks to develop a $500 million project on city-owned land along the Miami River. Earlier this month, Adler and Mattoni Group sold a Tampa-based apartment complex for $49.7 million. [DBR] – Grace Guarnieri