3M Co. 3M Co. Follow this company went on the offensive Monday in a British legal dispute over a medical-technology product, suing a British investment firm that, it claimed, was trying to “blackmail” 3M for $30 million.
Maplewood-based 3M (NYSE: MMM) on Monday filed a lawsuit in New York state court accusing Porton Capital Inc., Porton Capital Technology Fund, and Porton Capital CEO Harvey Boulter of extortion, Bloomberg reported.
Porton was one of the owners of BacLite, a product intended to combat the spread of drug-resistant infections. 3M bought BacLite but later shelved it, saying it didn’t work.
Porton and the British government have sued 3M for more than $66 million, accusing the company of breaking its contract and being “negligent” by pulling the product. BacLite was developed to screen for MRSA, a “superbug” that is plaguing hospitals.
The trial in the case started Wednesday in London.
“Instead of awaiting the outcome of the pending litigation, defendants and their investors have engaged in an unlawful campaign to blackmail 3M into paying $30 million in order to avoid the continuation of the campaign,” 3M said in its complaint.
“Defendants seek to publicly defame 3M and its chairman/CEO,” 3M said in the lawsuit. George Buckley is 3M’s CEO.
A day earlier, Porton issued a news release saying that it was “absolute nonsense” that Porton was trying to extort money from 3M.
“Last month, 3M resorted to suggesting that Porton and the British Ministry of Defence is attempting some kind of financial shakedown of 3M,” Boulter said in a statement.
Boulter said that position was repeated by 3M’s lawyers on Saturday.
“This is absolute nonsense,” Boulter said. “Our legal claim rests on an easily provable breach of contract — broken promises.”
