Vinyl Group hit with NSW Supreme Court case over alleged dodgy termination

The Brag Media’s former employee and ‘seller representative’ Luke Girgis is alleged to have been terminated without cause after ASX-listed Vinyl Group (ASX:VNL) acquired Girgis’s former employer.

That has formed part of a case seeking $2 million from Vinyl Group today brought forth in the NSW Supreme Court. On top of the $2M performance payment, Girgis is also seeking access to further bonuses and options based on lost remuneration.

In short: It sounds a lot like Girgis expected he would be kept on at The Brag Media after Vinyl acquired it. Only future court transcripts can confirm or deny that, but between the lines, it doesn’t take a detective to figure out.

It’s also pretty easy to guess what Vinyl Group says in return.

“Following an external investigation, Mr Girgis was terminated for serious misconduct, including but not limited to financial misconduct,” Vinyl wrote on Wednesday.

The company went on to explain why performance payments are invalid for Mr Girgis, as they were “contingent on specific financial targets being met and subject to Mr Girgis’ employment agreement not being terminated other than for cause or where Mr Girgis being convicted of an indictable criminal offence or any act of fraud.”

Vinyl has promised a ‘vigorous’ defence in court and stated it perceives the claim as of “little merit.”

It’s also lodging a crossclaim: It hinted The Brag was a bit dodgy itself. Well, namely, Girgis. Vinyl has said it has “uncovered” breaches relating to Girgis on Wednesday but didn’t name them.

Yikes. The news has been enough to push down Vinyl’s share price -7% on Wednesday.

VNL last traded at 13cps.

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