What did Aerus seek to do with the South Carolina lawsuit filed by EnviroPro?
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 Aerus's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, Aerus Enterprise Solutions, LLC (AES), an affiliate of Aerus, was named as a defendant in a lawsuit filed by Enviro Professionals, LLC (EnviroPro), a former distributor of AES products. Aerus disputed the claims made by EnviroPro in the lawsuit. Aerus sought to consolidate the South Carolina lawsuit with a related arbitration proceeding pending with the American Arbitration Association in Dallas County, Texas.
The claims made by EnviroPro included civil conspiracy, violations of the South Carolina Trademarks and Service Marks Act, violations of the South Carolina Unfair Trade Practices Act, breach of contract, breach of contract accompanied by fraudulent act, violation of the South Carolina Trade Secrets Act, tortious interference with contractual relations, and breach of fiduciary duty. EnviroPro sought injunctive relief, money damages, and attorneys' fees. The issues in dispute centered on the termination of the distributor relationship between AES and EnviroPro, whether EnviroPro was entitled to unpaid commissions, and the parties' rights to use certain trademarks.
The lawsuit was settled by agreement dated June 5, 2019. As part of the settlement, AES paid $350,000 to one of the owners of EnviroPro, EnviroPro sold to AES all rights to its intellectual property related to its business, and one of EnviroPro's owners entered into a non-compete agreement in exchange for a payment from AES. The case was dismissed on June 17, 2019. This resolution indicates that Aerus, while initially seeking consolidation, ultimately agreed to a settlement to resolve the dispute.