What were the central disputed issues in the lawsuit involving Aerus Enterprise Solutions, LLC and Enviro Professionals, LLC?
Aerus Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
l District of South Carolina
Our affiliate Aerus Enterprise Solutions, LLC ("AES"), Joseph P. Urso and Kevin Hickey were named as defendants in a lawsuit filed by a former distributor of AES products, Enviro Professionals, LLC ("EnviroPro"). EnviroPro's claims included, among others: (1) civil conspiracy; (2) violation of the South Carolina Trademarks and Service Marks Act; (3) violation of the South Carolina Unfair Trade Practices Act; (4) breach of contract; (5) breach of contract accompanied by fraudulent act; (6) violation of the South Carolina Trade Secrets Act; (7) tortious interference with contractual relations; and (8) breach of fiduciary duty. AES disputed these claims and has sought to consolidate this South Carolina lawsuit with an arbitration proceeding related to the same set of facts pending with the American Arbitration Association in Dallas County, Texas. The damages sought by the plaintiff included injunctive relief, money damages, and attorneys' fees. The disputed issues largely center on (1) termination of the distributor relationship between AES and EnviroPro, (2) whether EnviroPro is entitled to recover any unpaid commissions and (3) the parties' respective rights to use certain trademarks. By agreement, dated June 5, 2019, the parties settled this case, as well as all arbitration proceedings. The settlement agreement provided, among other things, that (a) AES pay $350,000 to one of the owners of EnviroPro, (b) EnviroPro agreed to sell AES all rights to all intellectual property (e.g., trademarks, trade names, Internet domain names) owned or controlled by EnviroPro and relating to its business, and (c) one of EnviroPro's owners agreed to enter into a non-compete agreement that would prohibit him from, among other things, selling, marketing and distributing air purification, water purification and laundry treatment products, in exchange for a payment from AES. The case wa
Source: Item 3 — Litigation (FDD pages 16–17)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to the 2025 Aerus Franchise Disclosure Document, a lawsuit involving Aerus Enterprise Solutions, LLC (AES) and Enviro Professionals, LLC (EnviroPro) centered on three main issues. These included the termination of the distributor relationship between AES and EnviroPro, whether EnviroPro was entitled to recover any unpaid commissions, and the parties' respective rights to use certain trademarks. The lawsuit included claims such as civil conspiracy, violations of the South Carolina Trademarks and Service Marks Act and Unfair Trade Practices Act, breach of contract, tortious interference, and breach of fiduciary duty.
The suit sought injunctive relief, monetary damages, and attorneys' fees. AES disputed the claims and sought to consolidate the lawsuit with a related arbitration proceeding in Dallas County, Texas. Ultimately, the parties reached a settlement agreement on June 5, 2019, which included AES paying $350,000 to one of EnviroPro's owners.
As part of the settlement, EnviroPro agreed to sell all rights to its intellectual property related to its business (including trademarks, trade names, and internet domain names) to AES. Additionally, one of EnviroPro's owners entered into a non-compete agreement, restricting them from selling, marketing, or distributing air purification, water purification, and laundry treatment products, in exchange for payment from AES. The case was dismissed on June 17, 2019.