Joel Bruckenstein fires latest salvo in bitter battle over T3 profits

Technology Tools for Today conference co-founder Joel Bruckenstein said financial software expert Bill Winterberg rejected a 50% partnership offer and failed to provide quality content and assistance for the past three years’ events, according to his court response filed Monday.

In May, Mr. Winterberg sued Mr. Bruckenstein for not paying $229,000, which he claimed was his half of the profits from last fall’s T3 Enterprise conference, an event that hosts technology vendors and broker-dealers. He said he had been equally compensated by Mr. Bruckenstein, and now-retired original co-founder David Drucker, at 2013 and 2014 Enterprise conferences, but was not last year, after Mr. Drucker retired.

According to the latest court document, the co-founders, who also created newsletter Virtual Office News, approached Mr. Winterberg to be a speaker for 2011 and 2012 events. In 2013, they offered him the opportunity to earn a third of the profits if he marketed for the conference, secured sponsorships alongside them and created video content to promote the conference. But Mr. Winterberg “failed to provide any substantial efforts” that year, and that performance declined the following year, it states. Content was also branded for his own business, instead of for the conference, it said.

Still, the co-founders paid him as a vendor and independent contractor for speaking and providing video content, “in good faith” of developing a stronger relationship with Mr. Winterberg, the response states.

They continued to work with, and compensate, Mr. Winterberg in 2014. According to the document, Mr. Winterberg failed to provide any substantial efforts for the conference and platinum sponsors of the conference expressed concern about his video content.

Mr. Winterberg’s attorneys declined to comment. Mr. Bruckenstein’s attorneys declined to comment further than the document, but a spokesman confirmed there was no written contract between Mr. Bruckenstein and Mr. Winterberg. In the original lawsuit, Mr. Winterberg said the pair orally agreed to split profits evenly.

HALF OF NET PROFITS

In 2015, Mr. Bruckenstein reached out to Mr. Winterberg after acquiring Mr. Drucker’s 50% share of the business, seeking assistance in speaking, marketing, selling sponsorships and contributing video, and said he would pay Mr. Winterberg up to half of the net profits if the efforts were successfully made.

Mr. Bruckenstein and Mr. Drucker “were duped into believing that the involvement of the Winterberg Parties could provide some added value to the Enterprise, but only if the Winterberg Parties made actual and substantial contributions to the success of Enterprise, in a broader manner, and consistent with the objectives and responsibilities the Bruckenstein Parties had been expecting since 2013,” the document states.

Mr. Winterberg “seemingly made little or no actual effort to provide benefit to Enterprise,” failing to secure one sponsor or any additional attendees, providing valuable video or speaking or moderating any sessions, the document stated.

When Mr. Drucker decided to retire after the 2014 Enterprise conference, Mr. Bruckenstein suggested Mr. Winterberg should purchase the 50% stake in Virtual Office News, which would entitle him to equal share of T3 conference profits. Mr. Winterberg rejected the offer, according to the document. It also stated that Mr. Winterberg had conflicting business interests, preparing and seeking sponsors for his road tour, and creating video content for his website.

T3 Enterprise is held every fall. There is also a T3 Advisor conference for registered investment advisers held in February.