Stormy Dean Sues Infogroup

Former Infogroup CFO Stormy Dean is suing the ORC parent for about $1.15m for severance and bonuses he says the company refuses to pay him.

In a lawsuit filed in Douglas County District Court, Dean, who worked at Infogroup for about 14 years in various senior roles, claims he was abruptly fired without cause in October, less than a year after the firm promoted him from Interim CFO to EVP and General Manager.

The group has had its share of spats with top execs in recent years, removing Chairman and founder Vin Gupta in summer of 2008 following a lengthy investigation after investment funds filed lawsuits claiming he misspent millions in shareholder money. Gupta never was charged and maintains the money was spent in the company's best interest.

According to the court filing, reported on www.omaha.com , Dean was one of many individuals within the company whose actions were reviewed during the investigation, but was never charged with wrongdoing, never 'suffered a conviction or a plea of 'guilty' or 'non-contest' to a felony' never committed any act of gross negligence, disclosed confidential company secrets, or failed to cooperate with investigations by the company, the SEC or the Internal Revenue Service.

According to his February 2006 severance agreement with Infogroup, Dean says the company owes him one and a half times his total compensation for 18 months, which totals $965,250 - his base salary from Infogroup at the time of his firing was reportedly $451,000. He is also seeking $137,500, his 2009 bonus through October, $50,000 in restricted stock and a jury trial.

Dean's lawyer, David Domina, said the action follows unsuccessful negotiations with Infogroup to reach a deal immediately after his client's firing.

Dean ran as the Democratic candidate for governor in 2002 against former Republican governor and current U.S. Sen. Mike Johanns.

Web site: www.infogroup.com .

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.

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