The soap opera of a Millbrae, Calif., patent lawyer and the electric car company he aspired to own has taken another strange turn.

BluWav Systems — whose parent company, Magna Electronics, is collaborating with Ford on the new electric cars — sued Edward Durney on Thursday, claiming that he broke a 2006 settlement agreement. BluWav, then known as WaveCrest, paid Durney $240,000 to settle claims that the company didn’t pay him or give him proper credit for his patent work.