Florida Car Airbag Safety Device Inventor Files Lawsuit For Stolen Technology, Tens Of Millions Of Dollars At Stake
Developer and manufacturer of car airbag systems, filed a lawsuit Friday, claiming that a former industry consultant stole technology to create a device that allows automotive airbags to open more safely.
Ocala, Fla. (PRWEB) May 3, 2006 -- New Lenox Industries, a developer and manufacturer of car airbag systems, filed a lawsuit Friday, claiming that a former industry consultant stole technology to create a device that allows automotive airbags to open more safely.
The lawsuit (Case # 06-934-CAB - Circuit Court for the 5th Judicial Circuit of the State of Florida), filed in Florida’s Marion County Circuit Court, involves millions of automobiles equipped with this airbag safety technology – and potentially tens of millions of dollars in royalty payments.
“At stake in this lawsuit is the ownership of core technology used in automotive airbag systems”, says New Lenox Industries’ lead attorney, G. Donovan Conwell. Don Conwell is one of the founding partners of the Tampa and Tallahassee, Florida based law firm, Conwell, Sukhia & Kirkpatrick, P.A., which specializes in intellectual property and technology law.
Dunnellon, Florida-based New Lenox Industries alleges in the airbag litigation that Charles Fenton, a former vice president of Morton International, Inc., one of the world’s leading manufacturers of airbags for the automotive industry, evaluated new technology developed by New Lenox that successfully used cold gas to inflate airbags. The airbag industry struggled for years without success to develop a cold gas airbag inflation system to replace the conventional hot gas airbag deployment systems, which inflated at such high temperatures that they often caused severe burns on the skin of users.
After examining New Lenox’s cold gas system, Mr. Fenton, who had pledged in a confidentiality agreement not to divulge or make use of this proprietary technology, told the company that its technology was “the foundation for the next generation” of car and truck airbag products, but years from being ready for market, according to the lawsuit.
However, the Florida airbag lawsuit alleges that Mr. Fenton then began licensing cold gas airbag technology which used the revolutionary airbag technology developed by New Lenox to the automotive airbag industry. The lawsuit alleges that Fenton created California based AirBelt Systems to market airbag systems which use the technology that Fenton stole from New Lenox.
“A working cold gas airbag inflator was the Holy Grail of the vehicle safety industry, and New Lenox developed it,” explains New Lenox attorney Mr. Conwell. “New Lenox owns this technology and will vigorously protect its ownership”.
About Conwell, Sukhia & Kirkpatrick
Conwell, Sukhia & Kirkpatrick, P.A., is a Florida law firm specializing in trial and appellate litigation. CSK’s Florida litigation attorneys specialize in commercial, personal injury and white collar disputes. G. Donovan Conwell, Jr. and Wrede Kirkpatrick have extensive trial and appellate litigation experience in intellectual property and technology law cases. Mr. Don Conwell is the former Chair of the ABA’s Computer and Internet Litigation Committee and has been voted by his peers in the Florida Bar as one of Florida’s “Legal Elite”. Ken Sukhia was appointed by the President to serve as the United States Attorney for North Florida and has handled over 80 state and federal jury trials, and over 80 appeals. He has represented President George W. Bush, Florida Governor Jeb Bush, the Florida Senate and Florida Attorney General Charlie Crist. Conwell, Sukhia & Kirkpatrick, P.A. have offices in Tampa and Tallahassee, Florida.
Media Contact:
Cathy Ross
Conwell, Sukhia & Kirkpatrick, P.A
813-282-8000
www.CSKlawfirm.com
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