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Attention Business Editors:
BRITISH COLUMBIA SUPREME COURT JUSTICE GRANTS COURT
ORDERS IN FAVOUR OF THE COMPANY'S COFOUNDERS AND
TOTALLY HIP SOFTWARE INC.
VANCOUVER, July 16 /CNW/ - Totally Hip Software Inc. (ASE:THW) of
Vancouver, British Columbia, and five Company Co-founders including Messrs.
Selwyn Wan, Benny Au-Young, Steve Israelson, Randall H. McCallum, and Chris
Large have received favourable Court Ordered Injunctions against Defendants
including Rajiv Kumar Aggarwal, Abha Rajiv Aggarwal, OneCode Software Inc.,
and Georgia Pacific Securities Corporation by order of the Honorable Mr.
Justice Curtis of the British Columbia Supreme Court on July 2, 1998. These
actions were launched on June 29, 1998, when the Co-founders and Totally Hip
Software Inc. filed a detailed lawsuit (No. C983315) in the Vancouver Registry
of the Supreme Court of British Columbia as Plaintiffs against the above
Defendants. This litigation is backed by months of investigation and planning
by Company management, Co-founders, Directors and Corporate Legal Counsel.
On June 30, 1998, the Company and five Co-founders filed a detailed court
action against its former President Rajiv Kumar Aggarwal, and his wife, Abha
Rajiv Aggarwal for breach of numerous legal agreements made with the company
and the five remaining co-founders during 1995, 1996, and 1997 and for certain
infringing activities of Mr. and Ms. Aggarwal after they were terminated 'with
cause' from Totally Hip Software. The actions against the Defendants also
involve issues of copyright infringement, breach of trade secrets and
intellectual property belonging to Totally Hip Software Inc.
''We have taken action on these issues because we have built this Company
into a leader in Internet software development. We will protect that
leadership by removing or neutralizing anything that comes between the Company
and its success. We are adamant about protecting the rights of our long-term
shareholders and remaining co-founders. We are pleased that the Honorable Mr.
Justice Curtis of the British Columbia Supreme Court has granted these Court
Orders based on a detailed investigation which was prompted once it became
clear that Mr. Aggarwal would not comply with Agreements between himself and
the Company and/or its remaining co-founders. Our recent legal efforts have
been designed to protect the Company's intellectual property rights,
copyrights and trade secrets, and enforce all legal agreements with former
employees,'' said Brian Leeners, President and COO of Totally Hip. ''We have
been in amiable discussions and are working with Mr. Aggarwal's present
employer as part of our investigations and to enforce the rights of Totally
Hip Software Inc. and its shareholders. We will pursue this lawsuit to its
fullest extent as the damage was done in 1997 when we were not in a strong
position and we are now in a position to get what is due the Company and its
shareholders.''
The Company, its shareholders and the remaining Co-founders have suffered
considerable damages as result of the Defendant's actions in 1997. The Company
has made incredible positive progress in the last eight months and during this
time our CEO and Chairman, Randall H. McCallum and the other directors made
every effort to resolve this issue out of court but were forced to take legal
action when the Defendants continued to breach their agreements. The Company
prepared a detailed legal case against the Defendants during this period of
negotiation which has resulted in the recent Court Orders granted by the BC
Supreme Court on July 2, 1998. Now that this matter is in litigation and the
Defendants have been neutralized it allows the Company to move forward as we
have seen in the last few months. The senior management and Board of Directors
have a fiduciary duty to shareholders to vigorously protect the Company's
assets, copyrights, trade secrets and intellectual property. These Court
Orders against the Defendants remove the possibility of any further breaches
by them in the future since they are now restricted from selling or disposing
of any shares in Totally Hip Software Inc. and they cannot dispose of any of
their personal assets in British Columbia until further notice of the BC
Supreme Court.
On June 30, 1998, a Notice of Motion for various legal claims, injunction
orders and a detailed affidavit by the Plaintiffs was filed in the British
Columbia Supreme Court against the Defendants Rajiv Kumar Aggarwal, Abha Rajiv
Aggarwal, OneCode Software Inc. and their brokerage firm Georgia Pacific
Securities Corporation.
On July 2, 1998, the Honorable Mr. Justice Curtis of the British Columbia
Supreme Court granted a number of Court Orders in favour of the Plaintiffs
against these Defendants. They are as follows:
1) THIS COURT ORDERS that the Defendant Georgia Pacific Securities
Corporation, by itself or its agents, employees or otherwise be and is hereby
restrained from releasing, pledging, transferring or otherwise disposing of or
dealing with any cash or securities in the brokerage accounts at its office in
Vancouver, British Columbia of each of the Defendants Rajiv Kumar Aggarwal and
Abha Rajiv Aggarwal until further notice of the Courts;
2) THIS COURT ORDERS that the Defendant Georgia Pacific Securities
Corporation do provide to the counsel for the Plaintiffs herein, within three
business days of the entry of this order, written particulars of each of the
cash position and holdings of any securities in the brokerage accounts of each
of the Defendants Rajiv Kumar Aggarwal and Abha Rajiv Aggarwal, both as of the
date of pronouncement of this order and as the date when particulars are
delivered;
3) Through a Mareva Injunction, THE COURT FURTHER ORDERS that Defendants
Rajiv Kumar Aggarwal and Abha Rajiv Aggarwal and each of them, by themselves
or by their agents, employees or otherwise be and hereby restrained from
selling, mortgaging, pledging, transferring or otherwise disposing of or
dealing with their interest in real property located on Homer Street in the
City of Vancouver, British Columbia or any of their personal property located
within the same condominium property until further notice of the Court;
4) AND THIS COURT FURTHER ORDERS that costs of this application shall be
payable by the Defendants to the Plaintiff in the cause.
Shareholders can request further information from the Company on this
legal matter and are encouraged to call the Company's President and COO, Brian
Leeners at 1-604-685-6525 ext. 224.
Totally Hip Software Inc., founded in 1995, designs, develops and markets
multimedia software and technology including the award-winning WebPainter(TM)
animation software and Totally Hip's Hip Clips(TM) professional animation
content. The Company is traded on the Alberta Stock Exchange (ASE:THW). (c)
1998 Totally Hip Software Inc. All rights reserved.
THE ALBERTA STOCK EXCHANGE HAS NEITHER APPROVED NOR DISAPPROVED OF THE
CONTENTS OF THIS PRESS RELEASE.
-30-
For further information: Corporate Communications (604) 685-6525 ext.
224; info@totallyhip.com, http:/www.totallyhip.com
TOTALLY HIP SOFTWARE INC. has 10 releases in this database.
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