Percussionaire lawsuit settled

by KEITH KINNAIRD
News editor | June 18, 2016 1:00 AM

SANDPOINT — A complex and contentious legal battle between Percussionaire Corp. and its former president and CEO has been resolved.

Company officials announced on Friday that it had reached a confidential settlement with Dr. Adel Bougatef and his wife, Marleen DeHeyn to bring the litigation to a close.

“We thank Dr. Bougatef for his past service at Percussionaire and for his commitment to Intrapulmonary Percussive Ventilation and its application to patients worldwide,” said Cathy Bird Natoni, the president and chairman of the board for Percussionaire. “We are pleased to put this lawsuit behind us and we wish Dr. Bougatef the best in his future endeavors.”

The settlement terms were not disclosed, but the parties regard the agreement as equitable and respectful. Both parties share the view that patients suffering from devastating respiratory conditions are their top priority; and both will continue to promote IPV use for patients in need.

“We are happy to have reached a resolution in this matter and we respect Percussionaire’s technology,” said Dr. Bougatef and Marleen De Heyn. “We wish Percussionaire the best going forward.”

Percussionaire, which manufactures respirators and attendant equipment, sued Bougatef and De Heyn in 2014, alleging that the couple had formed a skunkworks within the company in a bid to hijack the technology developed by Dr. Forrest Bird and start a rival company. The couple denied the allegations and filed a counterclaim alleging defamation, negligent misrepresentation and retaliatory termination.

Bird was described as Bougatef’s mentor in court records and was selected in 2012 to handle Percussionaire’s day-to-day operations in 2012. Bougatef said he was fired in 2013, but was allowed to stay on as a transition-period consultant.

Bird, a renowned aviator, inventor and engineer, died of natural causes at the age of 94 in August 2015. Bird’s wife, Pam Riddle Bird, died in a plane crash in Hope in October 2015. The crash remains under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board.