Taipei Plas vandal and German firm trade lawsuits

Taiwan businessman Karma Tang, who splashed red paint at German firm Baumüller GmbH's Taipei Plas booth, is in a messy legal battle.

So far he is the defendant in a lawsuit initiated by Baumüller for vandalism, and a plaintiff in another suit against Baumüller for “business deception/fraud” and defamation.

He's also the defendant in a third case — he claims he does not know whom the plaintiff is, but he will find out at a Nov. 25 hearing.

A hearing in the first case took place at 10:20 a.m. Oct. 27 in a Taipei court, according to legal documents supplied to Plastics News China. During the 10 minute proceeding, Tang said he admitted vandalism but the judge granted Baumüller's lawyers two weeks to settle the dispute. Baumüller's staff was not present at the hearing.

In the afternoon the same day, Tang filed suit against Baumüller for deception and defamation, naming three company executives: Andreas Baumüller, Norbert Scholz, and Stefan Krahn.

Tang is seeking NT$300 million (US$9.68 million, or about 7.5 million euros) in compensation, mostly for the early termination of his contract, legal documents showed. He submitted 75 pages of emails and 29 photos in evidence.

Tang told Plastics News China that he felt bad for the two Shanghai-based Baumüller staffers that he attacked with red paint at Taipei Plas.

“Rene Funger and Ding Zhaofang, they are indeed innocent, I will personally pay for the damage [to their clothes],” Tang said.

Settlement efforts fail

In settlement negotiations, Tang proposed accepting about 2.25 million euros — or about 30 percent of his initial 7.5 million euro demand. Tang said his proposal was based on past-due commission, business development expenses and potential future commissions from a six-year sales-agent contract that he says took effect on Jan. 1.

Baumüller instead offered 14,000 euros, which it claims is Tang's past-due commission minus the cost of the Taipei Plas vandalism, according to a Nov. 3 email sent by Baumüller's lawyer in Taiwan to Tang. The company also said Tang had to withdraw his case against the company.

The settlement negotiations fell through.

One-sided hearing

On Nov. 13, a Taichung court was scheduled to hear Tang's case against Baumüller. The company, however, did not send a representative.

Tang said Baumüller's lawyers had been aware of the hearing and had met with Tang on Nov. 7 to negotiate the case.

Baumüller spokeswoman Susanne Aufmuth said the company had no knowledge of the Nov. 13 hearing. In a Nov. 13 email, she wrote: “We have not yet been officially informed about any kind of legal actions taken by Mr. Tang against Baumüller Automation Equipment Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd, or against any other company of the Baumüller group or against persons working for the Baumüller group.”

In a Nov. 14 email, she added a brief statement from the company to tell its side of the story: “We have a business relationship with Mr. Karma Tang. After some time it became clear that Karma Tang's and Baumüller's business relationship was not working for a variety of reasons. Baumüller therefore sought to amicably terminate the relationship. Unfortunately no mutually agreeable solution could be found. The vandalism of the Baumüller booth at Taipei Plas, initiated by Karma Tang, makes further joint activities impossible. We consider further legal steps.”

On Nov. 20, Tang told Plastics News China that he has been subpoenaed as defendant to appear at a hearing at 2:50 p.m. on Nov. 25 in a Changhua court. He said he does not know who's suing him, but he suspects it is a Changhua-based client that he introduced to Baumüller.

Tang also said Baumüller sent him termination paperwork on Nov. 19.

Neither party responded to Plastics News China's request to reveal early termination-related clauses or terms in the contract.

Tang said he encountered a hit-and-run on his car on Nov. 10. “The police told me to watch out. I've been living in fear,” he said.