Company's $75 million lawsuit says Jacksonville, JEA slandered firm, drove off business deals

A water-equipment company has filed a $75 million federal lawsuit against Jacksonville and JEA, arguing agency officials slandered the business and drove off lucrative deals.

The suit by Fluid Dynamics Holdings LLC accuses the city of defamation, slander and interfering with business and contract relationships that hurt the company's marketing of a water-conservation system called Precision Flow.

The suit says the company had a "burgeoning relationship" with St. Johns County's utility system that would have led to the system being installed in some St. Johns homes through a pilot program. But it says threats by Jacksonville officials broke that up.

"Jacksonville and the JEA threatened to remove municipal and utility cooperation and assistance from St. Johns County if St. Johns County continued its business relationship with Fluid," the suit says.

A county spokesman said Monday that's not what happened.

"The city of Jacksonville had no contact with us," said Michael Ryan, the St. Johns County communications manager. He said county utilities staff had seen one example of Precision Flow equipment, but had not planned to install it on other homes.

"We never really looked at it. There was never serious consideration," Ryan said.

City spokesman David DeCamp said the company's claims against the city and JEA "have absolutely no merit, which will be revealed through the court process."

The suit also says Jacksonville voided permits it issued earlier for installation of Precision Flow equipment at a Jacksonville apartment site, although city attorneys denied that in a court filing.

Precision Flow is a system designed to reduce water turbulence and cut down air flow in water lines, which a release from the company said could reduce water use by 15 to 25 percent. The equipment had been used in eight Jacksonville apartment complexes by 2012 before a dispute developed about whether the equipment could affect water pressure available for fire hydrants.