Press & Sun-Bulletin
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Thursday, December 4, 1997
SLI settles lawsuit with company co-founder
Konopelski to receive $140,000
By WYN HORNBUCKLE
Staff Writer
Semiconductor Laser International Corp. will pay Theodore Konopelski, a cofounder and former director, $140,000 to settle a lawsuit.
In return, Konopelski agreed to refrain from using confidential information about SLI or to interfere with the management of the company for three years. Neither party admitted fault or liability in the case.
"I'm really happy," said Konopelski, who cofounded SLI with Geoffrey T. Burnham, the current president and CEO of SLI. Burnham fired Konopelski in August 1996. Konopelski then filed suit against the company for violating his employment contract, seeking damages in excess of $500,000 in addition to legal expenses and other fees, the company said.
The settlement comes as a welcome relief, Konopelski said, saying he looked forward to moving on. "I'm free to compete with the company if I choose to do that," he said. Konopelski is now a consultant for companies that use laser-diodes.
Semiconductor Laser is a fledgling company that produces high-powered lasers using two patented processes. The Kirkwood company raised $7.6 million in a public offering last year and raised an additional $3 million in a recent secondary offering.
"I'm very dissatisfied that it took so long to resolve. I believe they (the company) was hoping to stretch it out," he said.
SLI officials expressed satisfaction with the outcome, but declined to comment Wednesday on the details of the agreement.
"We are pleased with this outcome and now that this matter is behind us, we can move forward without the distraction presented by his lawsuit, " Burnham said in a prepared release.
A Broome County Supreme Court judge sided with Konopelski in May in a suit SLI filed against him early this year. The lawsuit claimed Konopelski was using trade secrets for personal use and was buying equipment giving him the capacity to compete with SLI. SLI also accused Konopelski of copying or taking corporate files, including those about prospective customers.
"It seems ludicrous to me that I was going to use information to hurt the company when I was a shareholder," Konopelski said. Konopelski and his wife now own less than 5 percent of SLI, totaling 159,531 shares according to an October filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
SLI stock closed Wednesday at $1.86, down 2 cents, on volume of 38,400 shares.
All content c 1997 The Binghamton Press Co., Binghamton, N.Y. |
