Ex-Head of Pico Products Sues Over Termination

Pico Products Inc., a Lake View Terrace manufacturer of cable-television equipment, said it is being sued by its former president and vice chairman, Bernard K. Hitchcock, over alleged breach of contract, fraud and wrongful termination.

The suit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, seeks more than $2 million in damages. Pico has denied the allegations.

Hitchcock resigned as a director of the company in May after he was relieved as its president in a dispute with the board over management philosophy, Pico said.

He was the company’s chairman and chief executive until February, when a new board of directors voted to relieve him from those positions under a restructuring of the troubled company. He was succeeded as chairman by Everett T. Keech, whom the company had hired a year ago as a restructuring consultant.

Since Hitchcock’s departure, Pico has been trying unsuccessfully to recover more than $150,000 in cash advances and personal expenses allegedly owed by Hitchcock.

In its fiscal year that ended July 31, Pico Products lost $1.3 million on $18.2 million in sales, compared to a year-earlier loss of $2.7 million on sales of $22.6 million.