STRATEGIC PARTNERS
December 19, 2001
BRISBANE - The Bank of Queensland has been sued for about $12-million by a company that the Australian financial institution had contracted with last year to replace the bank's ATM system.
Talisman Technologies filed the suit in the Supreme Court of Queensland. The suit stems from an agreement signed in March of 2000 between the Bank of Queensland, Talisman, Saracen Financial Services, and Compaq Computer (Australia). The joint venture was to produce ATMs to replace the bank's current ATMs. The new ATMs were to include Internet-based functionality, according to Australian Associated Press.
But Bank of Queensland managing director David Liddy told Australian Associated Press that the project had stalled and that the bank had filed paperwork to end the joint venture. The bank plans to consider a countersuit against Talisman.
"The project effectively stalled on a commercial basis and the bank applied to the courts to wind up the joint venture on a number of grounds," Liddy said. "We consider the claim to be an ambit claim (where the compensation claim is far greater than the actual losses) with no foundation and no substantiation as to the methodology for calculation of the claim."
Talisman Technologies last year also reached an agreement with ebank.com to provide ATM services for the on-line banking company, but ebank.com's Web site currently makes no reference to the agreement moving forward.
