British Buyer Sues Aero Kinetics, Fires Founder Who Countersues

When British company Stat Aero made a $24 million deal with Aero Kinetics late last year, founder W. Jusley Smith thought his company was about to become an international household name.

Instead, he's been fired by the British company, and the two are now fighting each other in court.

Strat Aero has fired Smith, and sued the company, saying that he had made "misrepresentations to induce (Strat Aero) to enter into the deal," according to court documents.

According to a report in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the lawsuit, filed in February, says that "Smith became cloaked with some apparent authority over the operations and management of the now combined companies" and began "a series of bizarre, almost inexplicable acts which disrupted the operations of the companies."

Smith has countersued, seeing more than $1 million in damages.

In his suit, Smith accuses Strat Aero of being a "ponzi-like" operation that is announcing deals with companies like his to attract investors. He says he was wrongfully terminated, and that the British company owes him nearly $782,000 plus interest. He further claims that Strat Aero has wrongfully taken control of hardware computer equipment, and servers owned by another company.

Strat Aero said in a news release that the countersuit is "without merit."

Smith is continuing to work in the UAV industry. He told the paper "I’m not going to let some foreigners (stand in the way of) our desire to bring the technology forward."

(Image from file)

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