Compaq Settles Lawsuit
Matter centered on gray market activity
By Craig Zarley, CRN
Houston
5:28 PM EST Fri., Feb. 09, 2001
Compaq has reached an out-of-court settlement in a $17
million lawsuit charging a Canadian-based VAR with gray
market activity.
The suit, filed last October in the U. S. District Court in
Alexandria, Va., claimed that Peter Mellon and his
company, The Baxter Group, Ottawa, fraudulently
represented that Baxter had a large computer products
contract with the Federal Aviation Administration. A
Compaq spokeswoman declined to reveal terms of the
settlement, but said they were favorable to Compaq.
Compaq de-authorized The Baxter Group as a result of the
alleged scheme, she said.
Mellon did not return phone calls seeking comment on the
settlement.
In the suit, Compaq claimed Baxter never had a contract
with the FAA and instead sold the Compaq products it
purchased to other brokers and resellers.
Dan Vertrees, Compaq's vice president of partner sales
and marketing, North America, says the court action and
settlement "represent Compaq's resolve to take appropriate action to control the
unauthorized distribution of its products." |
