For immediate release

Shea Stokes Roberts & Wagner Wins $8 Million RICO Judgment, Believed To Be Among the Largest in Georgia History

On January 16, 2008, the Superior Court of Cobb County, Georgia, issued a judgment in favor of John "Chuck" Watson and Karl Kutz in the amount of $7,959,636.20, in their business fraud and "RICO" case against Optical Science Company, Inc., Optical Surveillance International, Inc., Jean-Marc Pellerin and Optical Surveillance International, Inc., a Canadian Federal Corporation. The judgment was preceded by over a year of litigation between parties located in both the United States and Canada.

In this action, John Hunt of Shea Stokes Roberts & Wagner, ALC, represented Mr. Watson and Mr. Kutz who were two of the founders of Optical Science Company, Inc., a corporation specializing in the development of low light level surveillance systems for civilian and government use. Both plaintiffs alleged that the defendants had defrauded them into selling their company in exchange for stock in the defendants' Florida corporation and an agreement to employ them as executives in the combined business.

Mr. Watson and Mr. Kutz also contended that the defendants subsequently breached the employment contracts that were entered into in connection with the acquisition and that the stock they received under the share purchase agreement proved to be worthless. Following a trial on the question of damages, Mr. Watson and Mr. Kutz were awarded damages on their claims of fraud and breach of fiduciary duty as well as damages for their claims under the Georgia Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organization Act (RICO). When combined with an earlier award by the court to plaintiffs of $ 499,212 on the breach of employment contract claims, the total of the judgments awarded Mr. Watson and Mr. Kutz exceeded $ 8,450,000.

The judgment is believed to be among the largest ever awarded by a Georgia court in a RICO lawsuit.

In addition to the litigation team at Shea Stokes Roberts & Wagner, ALC, Mr. Watson, a former trial attorney himself, assumed a significant role in the prosecution of this case.

Read the full text of the judgment: Judgment Part I / Judgment Part II

Contacts:

John R. Hunt
(619) 232-4261
jhunt@sheastokes.com

Marianne Lawhead
(404) 766-0076
mlawhead@sheastokes.com