Leicester-based software developer THJ Systems Ltd, advised by law firm Freeths, has won a multi-million-pound damages inquiry against ex business partner Dan Sheridan.
Following a trial in July, the High Court handed its judgment down awarding £3.35m in damages after a judge ruled Sheridan had failed to properly advertise the developer’s OptionNET Explorer software.
Both THJ and Sheridan founded the business in 2010 to combine OptionNET Explorer with Sheridan’s options trading mentoring business, Sheridan Options Mentoring Corp. THJ expelled Sheridan from the business in 2016 when the relationship broke down, citing various failings on the part of Sheridan – including his failure to properly advertise THJ’s software.
In 2022, The High Court ruled that there was justification for Sheridan being pushed out of OptionNET. A judge stated that his failure to advertise “robbed THJ of a benefit it reasonably expected to receive under the LLP Agreement.”
This recent trial considered factual and expert evidence that set out the extent to which THJ believed subscriber numbers had been negatively impacted by the failure to advertise by Sheridan.
The subscriber numbers had not increased as both had forecast and then flat-lined. The High Court was asked to rule on what should have happened, ultimately concluding that THJ had been denied the ability to earn profits of at least £3.35m.
Acting for THJ, Martin Noble, Intellectual Property & Media Partner at Freeths, said: “This judgment follows on from our successful visit to the Court of Appeal 12 months ago, when it put in place an injunction against Sheridan and reiterated that copyright did in fact subsist in the screenshots of the software that Sheridan had been using.
“THJ was able to demonstrate to the court’s satisfaction that the business had been adversely affected by Sheridan’s failures and an appropriate award has been made.
“It is unfortunate that Mr. Sheridan did not take advantage of the several opportunities he was previously given to avoid the trials in this case and the associated significant costs and expense. That should serve as a warning to businesses involved in a dispute to consider alternative dispute resolution at every stage.”
Andy Mitchell, owner of THJ, added: “We are pleased that this chapter of the proceedings has been decided in our favour. It goes some way to recognising the failures by my former business partner that resulted in a very significant loss of subscribers to my software.”
