RICHARDSON, Texas-Texans CU, which won a $40 million judgment in U.S. Bankruptcy Court just last month, was stung by the same judge to the tune of more than $21 million in a separate case. U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Barbara Houser found the CU's wholly owned CUSO Insurance Group, which has been in bankruptcy since last year, liable for back pay, benefits, legal fees and an earn-out of $21.1 million to Kevin Curley, the former president of the firm.
A Texans official emphasized Houser's ruling is not a judgment but an unsecured claim, and is an estimate of Curley's claims for the purpose of a reorganization of the CUSO. Curley sold his company to the $2-billion CU in January 2007 but was fired that April. An arbitration panel ordered the CUSO to rehire Curley and pay him more than $6 million, but the CUSO violated the terms of the reinstatement, according to the court ruling. Curley filed an additional claim against the CUSO, saying his second termination deprived him of as much as $14 million in additional compensation due under a so-called earn-out agreement that was part of the original purchase of his company.
