Anonymous sources shared with me that Stryker has dismantled the following distributors. This appears to be a systematic move for Stryker.
–> North Florida and South Florida in 2019.
–> Colorado in late 2019/early 2020 (subject of the article)
–> West Pacific in 2020.
–> Three Rivers and Motion Resources are next.
UPDATE
A win for one of the little guys.
ORP Surgical wins court case against Stryker.
– contract claims
– attorney’s fees
– Stryker sanctioned for conduct
– Stryker’s attorney’s (Seyfarth law firm) sanctioned for conduct.
Read the Judge’s decision below.
“Goliath” Stryker Corp. must pay $4.75 million to Greenwood Village company after breaching contracts (Denver Post)
ORP SURGICAL SUES STRYKER (Orthopedics This Week)
Source: ORP Surgical, Stryker, and Pixabay/mohamed_hassan
Colorado-based medical device distributor ORP Surgical, LLC (ORP) and its manager Lee Petrides are suing Howmedica Osteonics Corp. (Stryker) after an almost 20-year business relationship turned sour.
ORP’s seven claims against Stryker include: breach of contract, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, unjust enrichment, intentional interference with existing contractual relationships, intentional interference with prospective business relations, misappropriation of trade secrets, and injunctive relief. ORP’s claims for damages comprise of “lost income and profits, substantial lost and impaired value of ORP’s business, and recovery from Stryker for unjust enrichment and disgorgement of ill-gotten gains.”
Founded in 2002, ORP sells and services “orthopedic surgical implants and instruments for trauma, joint reconstruction, foot & ankle, extremities and biologics.” ORP carries out its business through the use of employees and independent contractor sales representatives. ORP’s complaint details the training of its employees and independent contractor sales representatives as well as various personnel agreements. These agreements include non-compete, non-disclosure, and non-solicitation provisions.
Much of ORP’s business has been focused around selling Stryker’s products in specified geographic regions, including Colorado, Wyoming, Southwest Nebraska, and Northeast New Mexico.
In the complaint, ORP describes its long-standing relationship with Stryker and certain contractual agreements. ORP claims that as early as March 2019, “Stryker began a concerted effort to raid ORP’s business through its direct and indirect solicitation of ORP-contracted sales representatives.”
ORP alleges that from May 4, 2020 through May 6, 2020, “Stryker poached for itself twelve (12) of ORP’s most successful contracted sales representatives and associates.” ORP claims that these sales representatives and one other “accounted for approximately seventy-two percent (72%) of ORP’s total annual sales revenues as generated both from Stryker as well as the other manufacturers.”
ORP did not specify an amount in its claim for damages and will prove any amount at trial.