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Former Board Member Altura Ewers Files Lawsuit
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Former Board Member Altura Ewers Files Lawsuit
Biodata overrules objections as arbitrary and initiates legal proceedings.
Lichtenfels, 15 April, 2002. – Publicly listed Biodata Information
Technology AG faces two lawsuits amounting to overall US$ 100 million.
Altura Ewers, the company’s former Chief Sales Officer, filed two lawsuits
against his former employer at the U.S. Federal Court in San Francisco, USA.
After his demission as CSO, Ewers remained CEO of the US subsidiary “Biodata
North America Inc.”, until his dischargement without previous notice on 22
March, 2002. Simultaneously, Ewers was prohibited of access to the premises
of “Biodata North America Inc.”.
Subject matter of the first lawsuit totalling US$ 50 million is the selling
of the insolvent group’s operative business on 11 February, 2002, and sale
of the US subsidiary on 20 March, 2002. As reported before, the regular
insolvency administration trensferred all AG owned rights concerning the
firewall and Babylon encryption products to Germany-based “Biodata Systems
GmbH” after numerous bidding turns and negotiations with several
international investors. In their complaint, Ewers and U.S.VESTOR now object
to the sale of business. Initially, Ewers participated in the bidding
process, but eventually, Biodata Systems’ bid was sustained due to a
significantly better proposal and a business concept for a staff of more
than 50 employees. Hence, in the insolvency administrator’s view the
accusations are unfounded.
A second US$ 50 million lawsuit covers legal questions concerning
partnership agreements between parent “Biodata Information Technology AG”
and subsidiary “Biodata North America Inc.”. Ewers claims breaches in
contract regarding product shipments supposedly violating an exclusive
partnership agreement between both companies. The exclusive partnership
agreement defines distribution rights for Biodata products in North, Central
and South America. According to the dismissed executive, the named shipments
had to be processed via the US subsidiary, an apprehension which is
explicitly repulsed by the insolvency administration as unsubstantiated.
Independent of the present juridicial thrust, legal action has been
initiated against the former CEO of the US business. Due to strong suspicion
concerning irregularities in the US business operation in Ewers’ area of
accountability, he was removed from all offices in mid-March 2002. Altura
Ewers was CEO of “Biodata North America Inc.”. The Berkeley office near San
Francisco, CA, was established in 1998. In 2001, Ewers stepped down as CSO
of the Biodata group.
Editorial Contact:
Biodata Information Technology AG
Burg Lichtenfels
35104 Lichtenfels
Tel. +49 (0) 6454 / 9120-0
Fax +49 (0) 6454 / 9120-180
Dithmar Westhelle Assenmacher Zwingmann
Wilhelmshöher Allee 270
34131 Kassel
Tel. +49 (0) 561 / 3166-0
Fax +49 (0) 561 / 3166-312
end of ad-hoc-announcement (c)DGAP 15.04.2002
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WKN: 542270; ISIN: DE0005422703; Index:
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150750 Apr 02
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