ATM manufacturer Triton Systems of Delaware Inc. last week disclosed it had settled a civil lawsuit filed against its former president and CEO and two other former senior executives.
Long Beach, Miss.-based Triton had accused Brian Kett, former president and CEO; Daniel D. Thurtell, former chief financial officer; and William D. Jackson, former vice president of engineering, of misappropriating company information so they could share it with GRG Banking Co. Ltd., an ATM manufacturer based in China (ADN, 4/10/08).
Triton also accused the three of organizing Global Cash Services LLC, a Nevada-based company, to market GRG's products in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, India and South Africa, where the company would compete against Triton.
"The [Global Cash] business plan has stolen strategies directly from Triton's playbook," Triton alleged in its lawsuit. "For example, the [Global Cash] business plan details plans to use software called Select-A-Branch to increase revenues. In fact, Triton entered into a preferred-vendor agreement with [Select-A-Branch] in the fourth quarter."
Triton sued Kett, Thurtell and Jackson Feb. 14, 2008, in Harrison County Chancery Court for the First Judicial District in Gulfport, Miss. The lawsuit sought to prevent the former executives from competing with Triton.
Triton issued a statement last week saying the lawsuit was settled. "The lawsuit has been resolved on mutually agreeable terms, and judgments have been entered. Kett and Jackson are free to work in the ATM industry. Information regarding the terms of resolution between the parties is confidential," Triton said.
Kett ran Triton from March 2003 until August 2007, when Bill Johnson replaced him as CEO. Kett stayed on as president but left Triton in December of that year.
Since Kett left, many things changed for the company.
For one, South Korea-based ATM manufacturer Nautilus Hyosung Inc. agreed to purchase Triton from its parent, New York-based Dover Corp., for an undisclosed price (ADN, 7/31). The purchase is pending U.S. Justice Department approval. ATM
