Orange County businessman barred from leaving China for two weeks returns to U.S.
An Orange County businessman who was prohibited from leaving China for nearly two weeks because of a contract dispute with a Chinese supplier has negotiated a settlement and returned to the United States.
Brian Horowitz, 46, of Mission Viejo, said Chinese government officials refused to let him leave the country until he paid the Chinese firm $250,000 to resolve a civil lawsuit the company had filed against him. He said he arrived home Jan. 18 after his wife wired the funds to China.
Horowitz said he was stopped at Shanghai Pudong International Airport on Jan. 6 and told that he couldn’t board an American Airlines flight to the United States until the case was resolved. Chinese law permits its immigration officials to deny exit to foreigners with pending lawsuits.
The supplier, Fuzhou Trading Co., was seeking payment for a shipment of blenders that Horowitz’s company, On the Edge Marketing Inc., sold briefly in the U.S., Horowitz said. The Chinese firm’s owner demanded $250,000 to settle the contract dispute before he would direct the judge to let him leave, Horowitz said.
The dispute involved Horowitz’s 2007 purchase of 3,000 gasoline-powered blenders, which were marketed to tailgaters and others who wanted to blend icy drinks without a power source. Horowitz said the blenders did not meet U.S. air quality standards, as the contract required. As a result, the California Air Resources Board fined Horowitz’s company $240,000 in 2009 and ordered him to pull the blenders from stores.
Horowitz said the Chinese company agreed to write off Horowitz’s balance of more than $300,000 because of the fine and recall. But the company alleged in a lawsuit filed in China that Horowitz had failed to make good on his debt. Officials with Fuzhou Trading could not be reached for comment.
Horowitz said he did not learn of the lawsuit until he was stopped at the airport. But experts in Chinese law said it would be highly unusual for the country to enforce a lawsuit without proof that it had been served on all parties.
Horowitz said he has retained a law firm in China that will serve as his liaison with courts in that country and inform him of any future lawsuits. He said he’s also investigating an appeal in Chinese courts to get his money back.
“I’m very relieved to be home,” Horowitz said. “I’m hoping my ordeal helps other businessmen who do business in China to be educated about how to protect yourself.”
