Blackmail Claims Against Harvey Boulter Thrown out of Court
LONDON, February 23, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --
A United States federal judge in New York has thrown out the case[1] brought by US conglomerate 3M against Harvey Boulter, the CEO of investment fund manager Porton Group, in the latest development in an on-going global legal dispute.
The claims made by 3M that Mr Boulter had attempted to "blackmail" the company were quickly dismissed.
Vindication for Porton Group in New York follows the decision earlier this month of a court in Washington DC to reject all allegations filed there against Mr Boulter by 3M, the manufacturers of Post-it notes.[2]
The closure of the case in New York also comes in the wake of Porton's victory in the High Court in London last November, where 3M was forced to pay damages for breach of its contractual obligations over its failure to develop a test to track MRSA in hospitals after buying the base technology from a consortium led by Porton.
Porton Group CEO, Harvey Boulter, said: "I am delighted we have once again been unequivocally cleared of any misconduct.
"The decisions of the two judges in the US demonstrate that the claims of 3M had absolutely no merit. I am pleased that the case has been closed on this sham of a dispute."
The decision coincides with the departure of Sir George Buckley as President and CEO of 3M this week (24 February). The legal wrangle was ignited publically when 3M falsely alleged that Mr Boulter had threatened, after a meeting with the then UK Defence Secretary Liam Fox, to use political contacts to have Sir George stripped of his knighthood unless 3M paid Porton $30 million to settle the contract dispute.
1. 3M Company v. Boulter, et al., No. 651708/2011 (Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of New York).
2. 3M Company v. Boulter, et al., No. 11-cv-1527-RLW (U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia).
Notes to editors:
All inquiries to Eben Black, DLA Piper on +44-7968-559-198 or eben.black@dlapiper.com or Anna Brown on +44-7834-570-464 or anna.brown@dlapiper.com
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