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 Surgical Sues Stryker
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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.
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This is a fascinating development. In my practice we've seen similar outcomes with the revised protocol. The key differentiator seems to be patient selection criteria. Has anyone else noticed the correlation with BMI thresholds?
Great point. I'd push back slightly on the conclusion, the sample size in the cited study is too small to draw population-level inferences. That said, the directional signal is compelling and worth a larger RCT.
We implemented a similar approach last year. Early results are promising but we're still gathering 12-month follow-up data. Happy to share our protocol if anyone is interested.
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