Orteck International Sues Giti Tire for Fraud

US importer and distributor, Orteck International, is suing Shanghai-based Giti Tire (GT) for fraud. In a lawsuit filed in the federal district court in Greenbelt, Orteck claims the GT undertook a scheme to eliminate the company as the exclusive distributor of its tyres in the US.

Orteck International Inc alleges that GT became aware of the “substantial amount of business” done by Orteck, and formed its own California-based company, TransPacific Tire & Wheel Inc to fraudulently divert Orteck’s customers, the Maryland Daily Record has reported

Jennifer D Larkin, one of the attorneys representing the plaintiffs, said the customer base that Orteck had worked for years to assemble went away in a matter of months. “Most of Orteck’s customers no longer buy GT tyres from Orteck because TransPacific now undersells Orteck,” the complaint alleges adding: “The intentional, fraudulent, and deceptive acts of [TransPacific employee Brian] Chan, TransPacific and GT have eroded and depleted Orteck’s sales and caused substantial damage.”

According to the complaint, Orteck, formed in Maryland in 1998, imports tyres from India and China and distributes them to wholesalers. In 2001 and 2002, Orteck contracted with GT to become the exclusive wholesale distributor of its Kaiyuan, Runway and Primewell brand truck tyres.

“Thereafter, TransPacific lured Orteck’s employee Bruce Campbell away from Orteck, and he…began selling to Orteck’s customers on behalf of TransPacific,” the complaint states. “TransPacific used its connections as subsidiary of GT to sell GT tyres on to Orteck’s customers at a cost lower than Orteck could charge.”

Orteck’s complaint comes two months after it was sued by TransPacific in federal district court in California. TransPacific’s August suit seeks more than $2.2 million for the shipment of tyres it claimed were never paid for.