ROCKPORT, Maine — A federal judge has rejected a request by a Rockport couple to dismiss a lawsuit that claims the pair bilked nearly $5 million from a Colorado-based international window treatment company.
Senior U. S. District Court Judge Richard Matsch of Colorado issued an order Oct. 10 that denied the motion on behalf of Jason T. Throne, Mary C. Throne and Patent Services Group Inc. of Rockport. The defendants had asked the court to dismiss the lawsuit filed June 30 by Hunter Douglas Inc., based in Pearl River, N.Y.
Judge Matsch ruled that the Thrones request to dismiss was based on their argument that Colorado was not the proper location for the case to be heard. The judge concluded that the Thrones did not make a persuasive argument to have the case moved to federal court in Maine.
Jason Throne and Patent Services are represented by attorney George “Toby” Dilworth of Portland. Mary Throne is represented by attorney Peter DeTroy III of Portland.
In August, Dilworth said the case was a dispute between Hunter Douglas Inc., one of its former employees and another business. He said the allegations in the civil complaint were just allegations.
Hunter Douglas Inc.’s lawsuit claims that Jason Throne was the firm’s senior patent lawyer for more than 20 years. The lawsuit claims that in 1999, Throne and his wife created a company called Patent Services Group Inc. based in Rockport. Then Jason Throne had that firm bill Hunter Douglas Inc. for patent search services that were never performed, according to the lawsuit.
Between 2000 and 2014, Patent Services Group billed Hunter Douglas Inc. $30,000 to $40,000 on a monthly basis, according to the suit. The lawsuit alleges that the Thrones would fax invoices to Hunter Douglas Inc. from their company to give the bills an air of legitimacy, although their names were not present on any billing documents. The couple also rented a post office box in Colorado for payments to be sent.
The Thrones would then travel from Maine to Colorado to pick up the checks, which eventually totaled at least $4.8 million, according to the lawsuit.
The company fired Jason Throne in June for cause, according to the lawsuit.
Hunter Douglas Inc. claims the couple purchased significant homes in Rockport and Steamboat Springs, Colorado, as well as automobiles and a boat with money fraudulently received from Hunter Douglas Inc. The couple own a home and property assessed at about $2 million in Rockport.
Hunter Douglas Inc. produces window treatments and architectural products such as dropped ceilings, according to its website.
No criminal charges have been filed against the Thrones.