TeleComp co-founder Roger Thomas dismisses lawsuit against company
by September 23, 2021 2:55 pm 1,342 views
Bentonville businessman Roger Thomas, a founder of the company known today as TeleComp Holdings Inc., has dismissed the lawsuit he filed against the company last year.
Thomas filed the lawsuit on April 22, 2020, in Benton County Circuit Court in Bentonville, two months after TeleComp ended his employment agreement. In the filing, Thomas accuses the Rogers tech firm of a breach of contract.
A news release issued Thursday (Sept. 23) by a marketing contractor on behalf of TeleComp said the following:
“TeleComp has denied any wrongdoing and acknowledges that Thomas did not engage in any wrongful conduct. The parties agreed to settle their dispute in order to resolve the allegations and to avoid the uncertainty and expense of protracted litigation.
Thomas and TeleComp are satisfied this matter is resolved and wish each other well.”
Thomas and business partner Gino Capito started the company — TeleComp Computer Services — in 2003 when they partnered to purchase Dixieland Computers from Bill and Pete Norwood of Bentonville and merged three telecommunications and computer companies.
In early 2017, Thomas sold his majority interest in the business due to a merger between TeleComp and IPC Communications of Rogers. Concurrent with the merger, IPC’s Chris Beaty assumed the chief operating officer role of the new company, TeleComp Holdings. He eventually became CEO.
According to the 2020 lawsuit, after the merger, Thomas entered into a three-year employment agreement on Feb. 17, 2017, as a chief business officer for TeleComp.
Under the contract, Thomas and TeleComp each had options to end the agreement. According to the lawsuit, Thomas was to continue the job unless the company gave him a written notice of non-renewal at least 30 days before Feb. 17, 2020.
On Feb. 25, 2020, TeleComp issued a two-page notice to Thomas ending the employment agreement, effective 30 days from the date of the letter. The company said it would pay Thomas a prorated salary for 30 days after the notification.
Thomas argued that since he was terminated without cause — and wasn’t notified at least 30 days before the end of the three-year employment agreement — he was entitled to his annual salary of $200,000 through March 26, 2021.
TeleComp claimed, according to the filing, that Thomas “downloaded and deleted certain files from company records,” which mitigated its obligation to pay Thomas a full year’s salary.