Ex-Infinium exec files, retracts lawsuit

Florida's Infinium Labs and its Phantom game console have gotten a lot of media coverage over the past few months. Unfortunately, most of that coverage hasn't been about firm launch dates or hot exclusive titles, but rather, it's been about lawsuits and counter-lawsuits. Today, one more litigant entered the fray. And almost soon as news of the lawsuit hit the wires, it was retracted.

This morning, former Executive Vice President Terry Nagy announced that he was suing Infinium Labs for fraud and breach of contract. And he made it personal. Defendants named in the lawsuit included CEO Timothy Roberts and cofounder Robert Shambro, as well as the company itself. Nagy's job at Infinium was to sign up games for the system, and his compensation package was to include 110,000 shares of presplit Infinium stock.

But according to Nagy, Infinium hung him out to dry. The legal complaint stated, "In the fall of 2003, Infinium canceled Mr. Nagy's e-mail and cell telephone service, and Roberts and Shambro stopped returning his calls. Shortly thereafter, Infinium merged into a 'shell' company, and a public market for its stock developed. Roberts and Shambro netted millions of shares of stock, then trading between $17 and $36 per share."

Late this afternoon, however, Nagy and his attorney, Michael Hurst, decided to dismiss the lawsuit. Because the suit was dismissed "without prejudice," Nagy has the right to refile the documents at a later date.

“I’m happy because I feel that all parties are working with each other and are committed to resolving the disagreement,” said Hurst. "I believe this result is good news."

Hurst clarified Nagy's position, telling GameSpot, "The parties are trying to resolve the misunderstandings and disagreements and disputes amicably." He said Nagy dismissed the lawsuit hoping to "get those discussions rolling."