Summit competitor answers lawsuit with conspiracy, interference allegations

By Caroline Salls

Pittsburgh, March 14 - Summit Global Logistics, Inc. competitors Hecny Transportation Ltd. and Hecny Shipping Ltd. filed a lawsuit against the company Thursday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey that included many of the same conspiracy and interference allegations included in Summit's lawsuit against Hecny.

In addition to Summit, the Hecny lawsuit also names Maritime Logistics U.S. Holdings, Inc. and Fortress Credit Corp. as defendants.

The Hecny entities are direct competitors of the company and its SeaMaster subsidiaries.

According to Hecny's complaint, Summit and the other defendants allegedly "conspired to wrongfully interfere with and disrupt the business of Hecny, solicit Hecny employees, misappropriate Hecny's strategic business information and divert substantial Hecny business to Summit and Maritime."

"This conspiracy was carefully devised and implemented by the Summit and Maritime's top management in concert with Mr. Jerry Huang, a former key executive of Hecny," the Hecny complaint said.

Specifically, Hecny is alleging that the defendants agreed to transfer more than 10 million shares and a $15.5 million to $22 million payout for minimal assets and operations of a shell company incorporated by Huang's wife.

Hecny alleged that Huang's wife agreed to vote her interests to maintain the management of Summit and Maritime, in exchange for which, Summit and Maritime allegedly "funneled millions of dollars in consideration to her and her husband."

As previously reported, Summit and co-plaintiffs Maritime Logistics U.S. Holdings Inc. and SeaMaster Logistics Inc. filed its own lawsuit in February that asked the court to keep Hecny Transportation Ltd. and Hecny Shipping Ltd. from interfering with the company's subsidiaries "in a tactical effort to devalue the assets of the estates."

Summit's lawsuit also asked the court to keep the defendants from "raiding the businesses for employees and customers and making false and misleading statements concerning the impact of these bankruptcy proceedings on the debtors' operations."

Based in Kenilworth, N.J., Summit provides supply chain management services in the United States, Asia, Russia the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Eastern Mediterranean, the Middle East and India. The company filed for bankruptcy on Jan. 30. Its Chapter 11 case number is 08-11566.

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