Blue Ray Technologies Wins Lawsuit by Ex-Employee
Judge makes it clear allegations false, hurt new tech company Blue Ray Technologies
Spokane, WA (PRWEB) May 21, 2008 -- Blue Ray Technologies has won a lawsuit filed by an ex-employee with Spokane Superior Court Judge Michael P. Price telling the plaintiff Yelena Simonyan that that her case was baseless and calling her motive "hostile."
The judge also disclosed that she had a former felony conviction for fraudulent dealings with the IRS which she had not disclosed, and was apparently sufficient grounds for her firing by BRT chairman Erick Hansen in October 2007. Simonyan, who was in finance at BRT, had brought the lawsuit (case no. 08-201747-2, Spokane, WA) against the company claiming she had invested money and time, and wanted the company to produce records as to why it hadn't gone public.
Hansen says a potential investor group backed out after discovering her conviction during background checks. In addition, her lawsuit had caused other investor concerns as well as negative publicity in the Spokane Review last week. "A lot of people ran away when someone made a false accusations and allegations," according to Hansen.
"That a local newspaper would do so would appear in contradiction with Spokane officials desire to have BRT's Blue-ray disc manufacturing plant as central to its plan to revitalize its downtown area as a new technology center. The smart tech people are saying Blue Ray Technologies could be the next billion dollar success story in technology," Hansen noted.
The company also is seeking damages, according to their attorney, for the alleged wrongful disclosure of confidential documents, and for recovery related to the company's not having been told of Simonyan's felony conviction. "I was amazed at the diligence of the judge to be fair and that justice done for everyone involved," Hansen said.
Specifically the Judge's letter and order read in part:
"The Court is advised that part and parcel to Ms. Simonyan's termination, was her failure to disclose an underlying felony conviction for fraud in the United States District Court for the Central District of California. Only in background checks conducted by a potential investor group was this conviction revealed and apparently was never offered or discussed by the Plaintiff. Arguably, in a start up corporation attempting to seek private funding, this conviction could have, or perhaps even did present itself as a highly difficult and sensitive situation.
The Court is satisfied in this instance that the Defendant has in fact provided all information that is required by statute. There apparently has been no additional or new records request made, so any request for updated records is premature. The Court is further satisfied that the Defendant has shown a good faith basis to believe that Plaintiff's motive behind the request for these additional records is in fact hostile to the corporation and is now being presented to the Court in an attempt to leverage the Plaintiff's buy-out from the corporation by and through the commencement of this lawsuit. Pursuant to RCW 23(b).16.020, the Plaintiff's request for an order to show cause re production of additional records would forthwith be denied.
Plaintiff Yelena Simonyan's motion for an order to show cause requiring Blueray Technologies to make additional records requested by Plaintiff available for inspection is forthwith denied," according to Michael P. Price, Superior Court Judge.
Hansen is in the process of building new facilities in Spokane and other cities designed to be capable of handling the next generation of movie and game discs, Blue-ray 2.0, which gives an interactive web dimension to the consumer, and offer up to five layers of entertainment.
Hansen has also been in negotiations with the major studios through an affiliated company for downloadable high definition content over the Internet. While being a pioneer in DVD and now championing Blu-ray discs, Hansen also believes in delivering the best in movie and game content in whatever form the consumer wants it.
With the end of the format war, and 70% of the US having bought or buying HD screens (according to Nielsen figures) There is an overwhelming demand now for instant product in Blu-ray is the present and future in the arena, according to DVD pioneer and Blue Ray Technologies founder Erick Hansen.
The demand means multiple production and shipping locations are needed, he said, something never done before in this end of the industry. The demand he says is especially for TV shows, from major sports like "NFL" or "NBA" to "American Idol" or "CSI", fans who want their shows quickly, and if they missed an episode, online access does not give them HD, Blu-ray quality for their big screens.
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See the original story at: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/05/prweb954264.htm
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