Adler Group principals sued for millions over cable conversion tech

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