A dispute over unpaid loans and damaging statements has led to a lawsuit between two former business associates at a medical device technology company, raising questions about financial management and leadership accountability within the firm. The complaint was filed by Keith L. Wapner, MD in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey on April 8, 2026, naming Vadim Gurevich as the defendant.
According to the filing, Dr. Wapner is an orthopedic surgeon who co-founded GLW, Inc., a New Jersey-based medical device company specializing in orthopedic implants and instruments. In 2018, Gurevich was appointed Chief Executive Officer of GLW and also served as CEO for NovaStep, Inc., which distributed GLW’s products. The dispute centers around events following a financial disagreement after NovaStep was sold to another manufacturer.
The complaint states that in 2022, Dr. Thomas Lee—another co-founder—demanded payment under a consulting agreement with NovaStep. Facing limited operating capital and pressure from Dr. Lee’s threatened legal action, GLW’s Board voted to pay more than $400,000 to resolve the issue. With insufficient funds available from the company itself, Gurevich allegedly asked Dr. Wapner to join him in pledging personal assets as collateral for a loan so that GLW could meet its obligations without risking bankruptcy.
Dr. Wapner claims he agreed to this arrangement based on assurances from Gurevich that monthly interest payments would be made on time and that GLW would repay the principal within 18 months due to an anticipated successful product launch. Both men pledged securities as collateral: Dr. Wapner pledged stock holdings valued at $643,115 while Gurevich pledged treasury bonds.
However, the lawsuit alleges that from the outset of the loan in November 2022, Gurevich failed to make required monthly interest payments as promised. Instead of keeping interest separate from principal as agreed upon under their Loan Management Account (LMA), additional amounts were drawn against the loan each month without repayment of accrued interest. By December 2025, approximately $152,637 in interest had accumulated due to these missed payments.
The complaint further asserts that Gurevich provided misleading information about the true balance of the loan both to Dr. Wapner and to GLW’s Board of Directors—reporting figures lower than actual balances by tens of thousands of dollars at multiple points throughout 2024 and 2025.
As of March 31, 2026, according to court documents, Merrill Lynch was holding stocks owned by Dr. Wapner valued at $643,115 as collateral for an outstanding LMA balance exceeding $827,000—a sum much higher than originally anticipated due to missed payments and additional borrowings.
In addition to financial allegations, Dr. Wapner accuses Gurevich of making false and damaging statements about him in a letter sent on September 19, 2025 through attorney Erik Groothuis to GLW’s Board members and reportedly also shared with voting shareholders including Thomas Lee and others named in the document.
The letter claimed that Dr. Wapner conspired with outside consultant Tre Zimmerman and attorney Teresa Ford in efforts aimed at removing Gurevich from his position by seeking evidence against him for cause termination; orchestrating unusual compensation arrangements; attempting to replace other board members; failing contractual obligations; and trying to stack the board for personal objectives—all allegations denied by Dr. Wapner in his complaint.
Following circulation of this letter among shareholders—which included direct accusations regarding Dr. Wapner’s conduct—he was removed from GLW’s Board after a shareholder vote initiated by Gurevich excluding him from participation.
Dr. Wapner seeks judgment against Gurevich for actual damages related both to his inability to access his own assets held as collateral for the loan as well as reputational harm resulting from alleged defamatory statements made by Gurevich or at his direction through counsel.
The legal claims outlined include breach of contract (for failure to ensure timely interest payments), breach of fiduciary duty (for misrepresenting financial information), fraud (for inducing reliance on false promises), defamation (for transmitting false statements affecting professional reputation), and tortious interference with prospective economic advantage (for actions leading directly or indirectly to removal from GLW’s Board).
For each count listed in the complaint—including requests for compensatory damages, punitive damages where applicable, attorneys’ fees and costs—the plaintiff asks that judgment be entered against Vadim Gurevich along with any other remedy deemed just by the court.
The case is being handled by attorney Steven A. Haber of Obermayer Rebmann Maxwell & Hippel LLP on behalf of Keith L. Wapner under Civil Action No.: 2:26-cv-03696-MCA-SDA.
Source: 226cv03696_Wapner_MD_v_Gurevich_Complaint_District_New_Jersey.pdf
