轮胎经销商维权
2016年1月23日，位于美国的轮胎批发商Horizon Tire（原告）在德克萨斯州法院起诉了位于休斯顿的Flagship Tire&Wheel以及Horizon Tire三名前雇员，指控他（她）们谋划妨碍并破坏原告业务及与原告和中国轮胎制造商玲珑轮胎公司的独家销售协议。
本案起诉原告的三名前雇员是：Benjamin Shan（中文名：单斌）, Sylvia Hermosillo以及Haitao "Oliver" Zhang（中文名：张海涛）。这三人在离开原告后创办了作为原告竞争对手的Flagship Tire&Wheel公司，该行为违背了诚信及竞业限制原则。诉讼中提出由此三人成立公司并和玲珑轮胎进行合作。
2015年6月原告在加州联邦法庭以玲珑轮胎公司违约为由对其提出了诉讼，该合约规定Horizon在美国境内拥有Crosswind品牌轮胎的独家代理权。玲珑轮胎公司对加州法庭的司法管辖权提出了争议，并在俄亥俄州联邦法院对Horizon提出了反诉，称Horizon违约并试图要求该公司履行一份根本不存在的独家代理协议。
原告聘请华盛顿特区的Weisbrod Matteis & Copley PLLC作为法律咨询及顾问后，同意了在俄亥俄州对玲珑公司提出诉讼，同时遵循该州法庭的司法管辖权。Horizon的法律顾问Augie Matteis提到“Horizon对于该诉讼持乐观态度, 表示渴望尽快在俄亥俄州审理此案的实情和核心”
“Horizon无意浪费时间和金钱去争论此案应该在哪个法庭审理”Horizon的一位股东说道。该股东同时表示“希望此案能尽快进入审判阶段，这样Horizon能够证明对玲珑的指控成立同时让Horizon能够尽快将精力转移回轮胎业务上”。
值得一提的是，此次Horizon的法律顾问Weisbrod Matteis & Copley律师事务所曾成功指证玲珑从一家名为Alpha Mining System及其创始人Jordan Fishman那里窃取商业机密。在2010年玲珑被判赔偿$2,600万美元。在2012年玲珑再次败诉之后试图避免赔偿金。该律师事务所和原告通过多次要求执行欠款回收，最终迫使玲珑在2013年支付了全额赔偿金。
在Alpha案中，玲珑也提到过他们不受弗吉尼亚联邦法庭的司法管辖，对于玲珑的该说法，法院不予采纳。Horizon的法律顾问Augie Matteis说道“尽管玲珑在美国的生意规模已经达到了几个亿美元的水平，但玲珑还是在尝试逃避美国法院的管辖”
以下是英文链接和原文部分：
WeisbrodMatteis & Copley PLLC Files New Lawsuit for Horizon Tire in Linglong LegalAction
United States tire distributor Horizon Tire, Inc. filed a lawsuit yesterday in Texas court against new Houston-based tire company Flagship Tire & Wheel, LLC and three former Horizon employees, charging that they conspired to interfere with Horizon’s business and exclusive distributorship agreement with Chinese tire manufacturer Shandong Linglong Tire Co., Ltd.
The lawsuit charges the former employees - Benjamin Shan, Sylvia Hermosillo and Haitao “Oliver” Zhang -with violating fiduciary duties to Horizon and non-competition agreements, when they left Horizon to found Flagship as Horizon’s competitor. The lawsuit alleges that the former employees set up Flagship in cooperation with Linglong.
In June 2015, Horizon sued Linglong in a California federal court alleging the company violated Horizon’s exclusive rights to distribute Crosswind tires in the U.S. In response, Linglong disputed the California court’s jurisdiction and filed a lawsuit against Horizon in Ohio federal court claiming the tire distributor breached contracts with Linglong and is trying to hold the company to an allegedly nonexistent exclusive distribution agreement.
After retaining Weisbrod Matteis & Copley PLLC (WMC), a Washington, DC law firm, Horizon agreed to litigate all of Horizon’s claims against Linglong in Ohio, where Linglong sued and therefore conceded the Ohio court’s jurisdiction. “Horizon welcomes the opportunity to get to the merits of the litigation in Ohio,” said Augie Matteis, WMC’s managing partner.
“Horizon has no interest in wasting time and money fighting over which court to be in,” One Horizon shareholder said. “We want to get to trial in this case as quickly as possible so we can prove our allegations and return to focusing on our distribution business.”
WMC proved in previous litigation that Linglong stole intellectual property from another U.S. tirec ompany, Alpha Mining Systems, and its founder, Jordan Fishman. Linglong was found liable for $26 million in damages in 2010, lost its appeal in 2012 and then tried to avoid paying the judgment. WMC and Fishman responded by filing many collection actions across the country that ultimately forced Linglong to pay its share of the judgment in 2013.
Linglong argued similarly in the Alpha lawsuit that they were not subject to a Virginia federal court’s jurisdiction. The court disagreed. “Linglong has made a practice of trying to avoid the reach of U.S. courts while doing hundreds of millions of dollars of business here,” Matteis said.
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