Melville medical firm sues former executive

Melville-based Bovie Medical Corp. filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Manhattan Thursday against the former president of a Canadian subsidiary over breach of contract and nondisclosure agreements.

In October 2006, Bovie acquired the assets of medical equipment manufacturer Lican Developments Ltd., of Ontario. As part of the transaction, Bovie named Lican founder Steve Livneh as president of a new Canadian subsidiary, Bovie Canada. Livneh, a mechanical engineer and inventor, had been a consultant to Bovie since January 2006, and joined Bovie's board in April 2008, according to company filings.

Bovie did not renew Livneh's three-year contract in October 2009, but it continued to pay him monthly to work on a new line of endoscopic instruments for another year.

In March, the board decided to close Bovie Canada and consolidate the operations at a Clearwater, Fla., facility to save money.

In a letter dated June 13, Livneh criticized the company's support of his invention and said that unless Bovie gave him more control within 14 days, he would take legal action.

Steven Cohen, of Royal Oak, Mich., one of Livneh's attorneys, said Thursday, "Livneh issued something of an ultimatum" about developing the power source for his invention: " 'Get me somebody who can do it, or I'll do it myself.' They thought that was a threat."

In response, the board voted to remove Livneh as a director for cause.

On July 9, Bovie filed a complaint against Livneh in U.S. District Court in Tampa, Fla., seeking damages for breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty, among other things. Livneh sought to dismiss the suit or move the case to the Eastern District of New York in Central Islip or the Eastern District of Michigan, according to court documents.

In a decision Monday, U.S. District Judge Susan Bucklew denied the motion for a transfer. But she ruled that while parts of the case could proceed in Florida, the proper jurisdiction for other parts was in New York.

Efforts Thursday to reach an attorney for Bovie were unsuccessful.