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SAN FRANCISCO — A Berkeley bicyclist has sued the organizer of the AIDS Vaccine Rides for allegedly misrepresenting how much money raised by the events ends up going to medical research. 

Mark Cloutier, who also is a lawyer, on Wednesday sued Los Angeles-based Pallotta Teamworks in San Francisco Superior Court. He alleged the company has misrepresented and mismanaged the amount of money distributed to nonprofit agencies for AIDS research. 

Pallotta organizes several bicycle rides across the country to raise money for AIDS research, breast cancer research and other causes. 

Cloutier said Pallotta delivered less than one third of the $28 million it received from the Vaccine Rides to charities that conduct AIDS vaccine research. 

“The promise of the AIDS Vaccine Ride was that it would help raise much-needed funds for research and development of a vaccine for HIV/AIDS,” Cloutier said. “I was greatly disappointed and so were many other well-intentioned riders who were misled.” 

Pallotta spokeswoman Janna Sidley dismissed the suit as “wholly and entirely non-meritorious.” 

Cloutier is seeking class-action status for his suit to represent all riders who have participated in the fundraising rides during 2000 and 2001. 

Pallotta Teamworks has been embroiled in another legal battle with the organizers of the AIDS/LifeCycle ride, which scheduled a competing event weeks before Pallotta’s ride June 2-8. 

The San Francisco AIDS Foundation and the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center accused Pallotta of mismanaging the event and said they’re better off running it themselves.