A former shareholder this month sued NuVasive (NSDQ:NUVA) for about $660,000 the plaintiff claims he’s owed for payments related to a NuVasive acquisition.
Dr. Andrew Cappuccino, an orthopedic surgeon working out of Buffalo, N.Y., claimed that NuVasive owes him for a milestone payment tied to FDA approval for a spinal device developed by Cervitech, which NuVasive acquired in 2009.
NuVasive paid $47 million upfront to acquire Cervitech and agreed to another $33 million in milestone payments to shareholders contingent on FDA approval for Cervitech’s cervical disc replacement system, according to court documents.
Cervitech won FDA approval in October 2012 and all former shareholders have been paid, with the exception of Cappuccino.
"NuVasive has admitted that payment is due to Dr. Cappuccino but is withholding payment for reasons unrelated to the Cervitech matter," according to a press release.
Cappuccino is suing NuVasive in Southern California U.S. District Federal Court for breach of contract. He is asking that he win the $660,000 with interest and that he be reimbursed for his attorney’s fees, and he asked that the case go to a jury trial.