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Sour Grapes or Legitimate Gripe? Sleep Lab Sues Sleep Lab
DALLAS, Nov. 3, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- The Snoring Center,(SM) the nationally renowned Dallas-based clinic for the treatment of snoring and sleep apnea, has filed a federal lawsuit against a group of San Francisco businessmen accused of using fraudulently obtained proprietary information to establish and falsely market a competing medical practice, the Sereno Center for Snoring Solutions.
The lawsuit, filed today in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, includes claims that, in late 2008 and 2009, defendants Wade Zander, Jason Godfrey and Dr. Matthew Mingrone posed as potential investors and joint venture partner in The Snoring Center's plans to expand beyond Dallas, Houston and Fort Worth. Instead, the defendants allegedly obtained and used The Snoring Center's confidential financial and clinical data and advertising strategies to open the Sereno Center in downtown San Francisco earlier this year.
"Dr. Craig Schwimmer established The Snoring Center as the first medical practice of its kind in 2004, and now is the recognized leader in the clinical treatment of these potentially serious health conditions," says attorney Michael Hurst of Gruber Hurst Johansen & Hail, lead counsel for The Snoring Center. "Based on Dr. Schwimmer's business model and experience, The Snoring Center draws patients from across the United States. Apparently it also draws the interest of those wanting to unlawfully and maliciously capitalize on this success. "
The lawsuit says the named defendants, including four corporate entities, have deliberately mimicked the business and aesthetic operations of The Snoring Center's offices in addition to making numerous false statements while advertising the Sereno Center's services in the identical consumer publications as The Snoring Center.
In advertisements, the Sereno Center claims to be the first and largest practice of its kind, both of which are well-established distinctions of The Snoring Center. The Sereno Center also purports to be the "largest provider of the Pillar Procedure in the world," a statement disputed by Medtronic, the Minneapolis-based company that owns the FDA-approved technique and supplies the materials to perform the procedure.
In its 2009 annual report, Medtronic featured The Snoring Center and cited its status as the highest volume user of the Pillar Procedure, which involves the placement of small woven inserts into the patient's soft palate to reduce snoring and sleep apnea symptoms.
The lawsuit, Craig Schwimmer, M.D., et al. v. Presidio Industries, LLC, et al., seeks unspecified financial damages and a portion of the defendants' profits, as well as the return of all confidential information and a permanent injunction to prohibit false advertising by the defendants.
Gruber Hurst Johansen Hail was formed in 2006 and provides legal counsel on complex business litigation, including securities, employment, intellectual property, products liability and other commercial cases. Clients include leading companies — large and small — and individuals in the fields of private equity, real estate, manufacturing, professional services, oil and gas, and retail.
For more information, contact Barry Pound at 214-559-4630 or barry@androvett.com.
SOURCE The Snoring Center
Views: 205
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by D. W. Conn on
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Sounds like the cardiac stent wars of the 1990s. Free Market.... unless they can prove theftof information, or they have a patent there isn't a case
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Permalink Reply by Mike on
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i'm kind of leaning toward that view myself. is there really any "magic" to the business model of a sleep lab? they claim they have some great secret formula for success.
D. W. Conn said:Sounds like the cardiac stent wars of the 1990s. Free Market.... unless they can prove theftof information, or they have a patent there isn't a case
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Permalink Reply by Mary Z on
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Could be either. If they indeed did take proprietary information such as speciallized procedures, and if investors posed as venture partners and then opened their own lab, the Snoring Center may have a case. Seems as if the newer Sereno lab did engage in some false advertising about the "pillar procedure ".
But it seems like one sleep lab and treatment facility would be much like another except maybe in terms of quality. There was no comparison between the two sleeb labs I've used, though both were accredited, one was clearly superior to the other in terms of professionalism and comfort.
As far as advertising in the same publications, seems like that would be not big deal. Be interesting to find out the outcome, though I imagine this will be a long, drawn out lawsuit.
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