OCEANSIDE, Calif. -- Greenland Corporation's (OTC Bulletin Board: GLCP) initial request of the San Diego Superior Court to force Hermosa Beach, Calif.-based Seren Systems to provide control of all software used to power its automated check-cashing machines was denied.
In his decision, Judge Vincent P. DiFiglia wrote: "Plaintiff's First Amended Complaint focuses on the November 26, 1998 agreement. However, that agreement, by its express terms, expired one year later. The agreement required that modifications or amendments be in writing signed by both parties. Plaintiff has offered no writing establishing an extension of the November 1998 agreement. On this motion, Plaintiff has submitted insufficient evidence to establish that it is the owner of the software and related technology."
However, Greenland plans to take immediate action to renew its request on alternative grounds. Thomas Beener, Greenland's general counsel, said that while the court's Nov. 3 order prevents Greenland from obtaining the immediate return of all of the disputed source code and related technology, it does not foreclose Greenland from obtaining other provisional relief, including the return of copies of the operational source code for which Greenland contends it has paid Seren.
"In fact, key admissions by Seren of Greenland's current right to obtain copies of the software will result in a renewed request for copies of the operational software in the immediate future," Beener said.
Greenland is seeking a substantive hearing before an arbitrator before the end of the December and hopes to have a final decision from the arbitrator regarding ownership rights to all source code and related software by late January or early February.
Dr. Louis T. Montulli, CEO of Greenland Corporation, said, "I believe that with or without immediate possession of source code obtained through court granted provisional remedies, Greenland will successfully weather the temporary interruption created by Seren."
Steven Lamb, Seren Systems counsel, said, "We expect that the arbitrator will follow Judge DiFiglia's order and find that Seren Systems is the sole owner of the software and related technology." Seren Systems has filed a counterclaim against Greenland for over $700,000, for breach of an Agreement for Independent Consulting Services entered into in June 2000, Lamb added. That arbitration is tentatively scheduled to begin in February.According to Montulli, the machines Greenland has operating in the field have not only continued to function but actually improved their performance during September and October. "In fact, October 2000 saw the greatest amount of value of checks cashed in Greenland's history," he said.
