CHARLESTON - A Parkersburg man claims a Charleston company lured him away from Verizon with a $90,000 salary it didn't intend to pay and promises it didn't intend to keep.

Jeffrey Lewis sued Mobile Training and Education in Wayne Circuit Court in December, claiming breach of contract, misrepresentation and fraud.

When he left Verizon he resigned as president of Local Union 2003 of Communications Workers of America, according to lawyer Jeffrey Mehalic of Charleston.

Lewis seeks to recover lost income, lost benefits and damages for humiliation, embarrassment, severe distress and anxiety.

Mobile Training and Education removed the suit to U.S. District Court in Charleston, where Mehalic countered with a motion to send it back to Wayne County. The complaint says some or all of the transactions occurred in Wayne County.

"As union president and Verizon employee, Lewis had gained knowledge of telecommunications companies and made contacts throughout the United States with those companies and other CWA local unions," Mehalic wrote.

In 2006, he wrote, Mobile Training and Education vice president Evan Bachrach offered Lewis a $90,000 position as national director of education.

The offer included a ten year guarantee and benefits equal to those at Verizon, he wrote.

Lewis signed a contract and sent it back for company signatures, he wrote, but the next copy omitted the 10-year guarantee.

"Bachrach assured him that the omission was an oversight and that the completed contract was in MT&E's office," Mehalic wrote.

When Lewis contacted Verizon tuition assistance manager Jason Mulrooney, he wrote, Mulrooney told him Verizon suspended Mobile Training and Education.

"Lewis asked Bachrach why he had been told that MT&E had a good working relationship with Verizon when it obviously did not, and Bachrach told him that MT&E was hoping that Lewis could use his contacts with CWA to get MT&E's suspension lifted," he wrote.

"In January 2007, Evan Bachrach informed Lewis that because he had been unable to get the suspension removed, MT&E was changing Lewis' compensation structure to one based entirely on commissions," he wrote.

"Lewis informed Bachrach that MT&E had misled him about the status of its relationship with Verizon," he wrote.

He wrote that Lewis set up classes for AT&T, which provided free laptop computers to everyone who registered.

He wrote that a MT&E sales representative spread a message that people could get free laptops even if they didn't want the training.

AT&T suspended Mobile Training and Education, he wrote.

"Lewis contacted the CWA president in Roanoke, Virginia, who wanted to start classes for his AT&T Wireless employees," he wrote.

A different tuition program would cover the classes, Mehalic wrote, so the laptop suspension wouldn't apply.

He wrote that Lewis rented space in Lebanon, Va., and classes began.

Bachrach directed him to establish a joint account with sales representative Lisa McLeod, he wrote, and Bachrach awarded sales credit for the classes to McLeod.

He wrote that on March 30, 2008, Bachrach told Lewis he would receive his last paycheck the next day.

For MT&E, Bryan Cokely and J. A. Curia III of Charleston removed the suit to U.S. District Court in February.

They argued that federal jurisdiction applies because MT&E is a New York corporation and the amount in controversy exceeds $75,000.

In answer to the complaint they wrote that MT&E reduced his compensation and terminated him due to poor production.

Mehalic moved for remand on March 16, arguing that MT&E failed to remove the suit within 30 days of service.