Pipe Repair Co. Sues Competitor Over Alleged $10M Sabotage
Several months after an arbitral tribunal awarded $10 million in damages to a trenchless pipe repair technology company, finding its supplier had breached an exclusivity agreement, the company has filed new litigation in New York federal court against a competitor over alleged corporate sabotage that destroyed its business.
IST North America LLC filed a complaint against Trelleborg Sealing Solutions US Inc. and several of its affiliates and executives, accusing them of a “calculated campaign of deception and corporate sabotage that destroyed ISTNA’s business.”
The complaint states that in a last-ditch effort to avoid adjudication of ISTNA’s claims, IST Germany, under Trelleborg’s control, filed for insolvency in Germany on the eve of the arbitration evidentiary hearing. But the tribunal rejected the request for a stay in light of the insolvency filing and ordered the evidentiary hearing to proceed.
The tribunal issued a final award in June 2025, finding that IST Germany’s breach of the exclusivity agreement was “willful, malicious, and conducted ‘with the assistance and at the behest of Trelleborg.'”
In a statement to Law360 on Friday, Joseph Barbiere of Cole Schotz P.C., counsel for ISTNA, said the company is “extremely disappointed in Trelleborg’s conduct, which it strongly believes was rooted in bad faith and deception. We look forward to proving ISTNA’s claims in court and achieving a successful outcome to this very unfortunate circumstance.”
ISTNA is represented by Joseph Barbiere, Eric S. Latzer and Brandon M. Fierro of Cole Schotz P.C.
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