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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF MARYLAND MEHUL'S INVESTMENT CORPORATION: T/A NATIONAL PRINTING & COPYING : v. : Civil Action No. DKC 99-3120 : ABC ADVISORS, INC. : MEMORANDUM OPINION Pending before the court and ready for resolution is the motion for summary judgment of Defendant, ABC Advisors, Inc. ("ABC"). No hearing is deemed necessary, and the court now rules For the reasons that follow, the

pursuant to Local Rule 105.6.

court shall deny the motion with respect to count I (breach of contract), and grant the motion with respect to all other counts. I. Background The following facts are undisputed or presented in the light most favorable to Plaintiff, Mehul's Investment Corporation t/a National Printing & Copying ("National"). Defendant, ABC, acquires and resells Government Printing Office ("GPO") bid solicitations. ABC "codes" and sorts these solicitations into various "production categories," for instance, copying and duplicating, color copying, saddle stitching, four-color processing, etc. It then sells them

to printing companies that have requested work in that specific category. uses the Paper no. 13 at 2. service of National is a printing company that like Defendant to bid on GPO

companies

contracts.

In 1997, Printers Service, Inc. ("PSI") contracted to provide GPO solicitation bid services for ten years at $1 a month to Bina's Investment Corporation t/a Metro Printing & Copying ("Metro"). Paper no. 1 ("Complaint"), Plaintiff's exhibit 2 at 1 ("1997 agreement").1 The express terms of the 1997 agreement call for PSI

to provide Metro bid solicitations in only one production category, copying and duplicating. Despite this limitation, Metro received

copies of GPO solicitations in multiple production categories, as reflected in Metro Printing's "Bid's Unlimited, Inc., Application for Bid Service." application"). Plaintiff's exhibit 2 at 2.2 ("bid service

Additionally, the 1997 agreement contains a clause

binding the successors and/or assigns of PSI and Metro. When the PSI-Metro agreement was executed, PSI was owned by Robert Schlauch and Bhavi L. Vora. The latter also owned Metro.

Schlauch explains that PSI provided bid solicitations to Metro in categories other than copying and duplicating because Vora was part owner of PSI, and because Vora invested in PSI's predecessor, Bids Unlimited, Inc., which Schlauch owned. (Robert Schlauch Aff.

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Maryland Law