Nat Ford, executive director of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, violated ethics rules when he moved to scuttle a lucrative parking garage contract in 2009, according to a new lawsuit.

“Ford violated the ethics code,” said Whitney Leigh, an attorney who represents Fred Bekele, a parking garage manager who believes he lost business thanks to Ford. “The code is very clear: If you have a professional relationship with someone whom a decision would help, you have to recuse yourself.”