Authorities seize Shandong Linglong Tyre booth at SEMA

ERJ staff report (RPN)

By Miles Moore, Rubber & Plastics News Staff

Las Vegas - Federal marshals seized the display booth of Chinese tyre maker Shandong Linglong Tyre Co. at the SEMA Show, claiming its contents as partial repayment of a $26 million (Euro 20 million) court judgment against the company.

Jordan Fishman, CEO of Florida-based Tire Engineering and Distribution LLC., contacted the federal government and requested the 29 Oct seizure. This was Fishman's first attempt to collect on the judgment against Shandong Linglong and Dubai-based tyre distributor Al-Dobowi Tyres Co. LLC.

In a suit filed in October 2009 before the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in Alexandria, Virginia, Fishman accused Shandong Linglong and Al-Dobowi of conspiring with a former associate of Fishman's to steal Fishman's proprietary designs for underground mining tyres.

The jury in the Alexandria court ruled in Fishman's favor on all counts in July 2010 and levied the $26 million in damages. Shandong Linglong appealed, but a federal appeals court affirmed the lower court decision in June 2012.

Before the raid, Shandong Linglong had not paid Fishman a penny of the judgment, according to August Matteis, Fishman's attorney and a partner in the Washington law firm of Weisbrod Matteis & Copley P.L.L.C.

“They're taking the position that if we want the money, we have to come get it,” Matteis said.

The value of the booth and its contents-including tyres, a computer and the booth itself-is not significant, Fishman said. But the raid was important is making a point, he said.

“This is my way of telling them, 'You don't understand that you're not going to get away with this,'” Fishman said. “'This is the US, not China.'”

When Fishman confronted Shandong Linglong executives in 2005 about the theft of his designs, they laughed in his face, he claims.

“They told me seven years ago that I was too old and not rich enough to beat them-that I would die before seeing a penny,” according to Fishma. “Well, I'm still here, and I'm about to see my first penny from them. But I won't stop until I get every penny from these thieves.”

The contents of the booth will be sold at a sheriffs' auction, Matteis said

This is an external link and should open in a new window. If the window does not appear, please check your pop-up blocking software. ERJ is not responsible for the content of external sites.

Article from Rubber & Plastics News