|
NZ VoIP Start-up In Bitchy Marriage Break-Up |
|
|
|
Written by Adam Gosling
|
|
Friday, 20 July 2007 |
An acrimonious split between husband and wife has prompted legal
proceedings over a former partner's involvement in a VoIP start-up.
No amount of money would make me air the dirty laundry of my failed marriage in the public eye, but according to this story co-founders of New Zealand phone company, CallPlus are more than willing to show the world what sort of partners they are.
The former husband and wife team which started ISP and phone company
CallPlus together are now heading to court, not over their separation,
but over what he's doing with his time these days. Malcolm Dick is
involved in a new venture called 2Talk, a VoIP start-up that his
former partner (and presumably friend and lover) Annette
Presley says is a risk to CallPlus a company in which she holds shares.
The new start-up was actually formed last year by Dick and the other CallPlus directors and
shareholders, but excludes Presley."I'm
protecting my rights as a shareholder," said Presley, who still owns 42
per cent of CallPlus.
"I'm protecting my investment which I have every
right to do. CallPlus is a large company with a substantial turnover
and I've invested millions of dollars in it."
Meanwhile, Dick was on a skiing holiday with their children.
"She's
saying we're damaging CallPlus, which is
ludicrous," he told the reporter that tracked him down and informed him
of the legal action against him. "Why the hell would we want to damage
our most significant
investment for all of us?"
The
legal argument against them is that Dick, who is CallPlus chief
executive and director, Martin Wylie, breach their fiduciary duty by
establishing 2Talk in competition
with CallPlus. Presley
also claims several CallPlus staff have worked for 2Talk and the use of
the
CallPlus billing system has allowed the company to become quickly
established.
General
manager of Slingshot Mark Callander, CallPlus chief technology officer
Adrian Dick and lawyer Geoffrey Cone, who are shareholders of CallPlus
and 2Talk, are also named in the legal filings.
Related news items Newer news items
Older news items
|
|
|
|
