Hoss, SiteWatch involved in dueling suits - Dallas Business Journal:

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Dallas Business Journal - August 14, 2006 http://dallas.bizjournals.com/dallas/stories/2006/08/14/story4.html

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Hoss, SiteWatch involved in dueling suits

Dallas Business Journal - August 11, 2006 by Holli L. Estridge Staff Writer

hestridge@bizjournals.com | 817-693-0025

Hoss Equipment Co. and SiteWatch L.L.C. are suing each other in Dallas County civil court for losses related to video surveillance equipment that's piqued military interest. The long-range, wireless, remotely accessible system, developed by Tony Alardin in 2000, according to court documents, lets customers monitor work sites via Web-based video and audio software. Alardin's company, then called Remote Monitoring Technologies, and Hoss Equipment formed a partnership in September 2001, after Hoss bought three camera systems to sell, according to court records. Irving-based Hoss, a dealer of refurbished and used construction equipment, sued Alardin and his company, SiteWatch, after SiteWatch and Hoss Equipment both booked sales of more than $100,000 on the video surveillance equipment in their first sales quarter ending Dec. 31, 2004, according to Alardin's lawsuit. Hoss Equipment alleged breach of contract, assault and trespass. Alardin squandered and misspent personal and business loans Hoss gave him, according to the suit. Hoss Equipment later locked SiteWatch out of its offices on Hoss-owned property and retained SiteWatch's equipment and business records in March of 2005, according to a countersuit filed by Alardin. Alardin's suit says Hoss Equipment took aggressive steps to "cut SiteWatch out of the loop" following the MineExpo and ConExpo conventions in 2005, where the equipment dealer recognized the surveillance system was on its way to becoming a profitable product. Hoss Equipment's suit also states that Alardin began a campaign of threatening Gregg Hoss, the company's president, and his wife, Angela. Hoss did not return calls seeking comment on the suit. Hoss agreed to contribute money for research and development, provide mentoring, legal work and credit support and to allow RMT to use Hoss Equipment's personnel, facilities and administration, according to the countersuit. RMT, in turn, agreed to assign intellectual property rights, including a pending patent application, to the partnership and to train sales and technical personnel from Hoss Equipment's work force, according to Alardin's countersuit. According to Alardin's countersuit, the Hosses contributed about $187,000 on behalf of Hoss Equipment, and Alardin contributed $42,000. Hoss Equipment's suit denies any partnership ever existed.

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8/24/2006