OtterBox likely to settle lawsuit against distributor out of court

FORT COLLINS — Otter Products LCC likely will settle out of court a lawsuit it filed last year against a distributor who was delinquent in payments for merchandise.

Lauren Schmidt, a lawyer with Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck LLP in Denver, who filed the suit on behalf of Fort Collins-based Otter Products against Summit Distribution LLC, said Tuesday she believes the suit will be settled out of court, but would not discuss the case further.

Last October, Otter Products, which designs and manufactures protective cases for electronic devices using the name OtterBox, was seeking a jury trial to recover $1.2 million owed for merchandise shipped to Summit, which Otter Products claimed Summit didn’t pay, and that Summit also owes about $174,500 in interest accrued for nonpayment.

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Summit Distribution is based in East Norwich, N.Y., and operates distribution centers in Plainview, N.Y., and San Diego, Calif.

The suit, filed in Larimer County District Court, was a civil action for breach of contract under a 2014 distributor/reseller agreement between the companies. The contract allowed either party to terminate the agreement without cause after a 90-day written notice.

In late summer 2014, Otter Products streamlined its distribution strategy, according to court documents. Otter Products notified Summit on Oct. 27 that it would terminate the contract on Jan. 31, 2015.

Otterbox said it continued to ship merchandise to Summit during the 90-day window as stipulated in the contract, but that Summit did not make any payments to Otter Products following the Oct. 27 termination letter.