The Holmes family was good friend with the Fuisz family. The Fuisz had a son named Richard who was seen as a successful businessman in the medical field as he was a licensed doctor. He held a grudge from when Elizabeth started the company and didn't ask for his advice, because he thought he was qualified to offer her a helping hand. As revenge, he decided to patent an element of Elizabeth's blood device which was represented by the fact that all the data which was registered by the application could be sent to the physician. After the Holmes family found out about this, they burned bridges and cut off any interactions with Richard Fuisz. They also met a representative of McDermott Will & Emery firm to find out if they can help with contesting this patent. Because the company had connections with Richard's father they decided to turn down the Holmes’ proposal.