MetalNRG notches up another legal win as former CEO is denied an appeal
MetalNRG wins another legal victory as Scottish court rules in its favor in unfair dismissal dispute with former employee Pierpaolo Rocco
- Chief executive of MetalNRG: ‘We are delighted with this outcome in Scotland’
- Pierpaolo Rocco has two weeks to apply for permission to appeal to the Court of Session
That has been determined by a Scottish court MetalNRG‘s favor in another legal victory against a former employee regarding his firing from the natural resources investor.
Pierpaolo Rocco, the CEO of BritEnergy, had sought compensation for costs incurred in taking legal action related to his employment with the company, which he left in October 2021.
Rocco also wanted to be reimbursed for all legal costs of actions taken against him, and receive a payment of £50,000 ‘exit bonus’ which he said was due to him.
Lawsuit: MetalNRG originally initiated legal action against BritEnergy and Rocco in January 2022 over its stake in the BritNRG joint venture
MetalNRG told investors on Thursday that Scotland’s Sheriff Appeal Court had declined to appeal the first case, though it has ordered further comments on charges if the two sides fail to reach an agreement.
The company said it would seek to recover the costs of defending such an appeal, in addition to those awarded to the group in connection with the initial decision.
Rocco now has two weeks to apply for leave to appeal to the Inner House of the Court of Session, Scotland’s highest civil court.
“We are delighted with this outcome in Scotland, which once again fully justifies our approach,” said Rolf Gerritsen, CEO of MetalNRG.
In December, Rocco withdrew a claim of “unfair bias” against Gerritsen, two other MetalNRG directors and the company itself.
He alleged that the company waived certain transactions on a false and misleading basis and that Gerritsen had received excessive compensation.
Just before the deadline to provide evidence in support of his application, Rocco backed down and agreed to enter into a consent order with MetalNRG and its leadership.
MetalNRG originally began legal action against BritEnergy and Rocco in January 2022 over its stake in the BritNRG joint venture.
MetalNRG planned to increase its stake in the company, which acquires UK oil and gas assets, to 50 per cent, and made a series of payments worth more than £1 million to BritEnergy.
Yet it broke the deal after discovering that Mr Rocco had failed to declare a large stake he owned in BritEnergy and had taken legal action.
In September, a summary judgment denied Brit Energy and BritNRG leave to appeal and ordered them to reimburse MetalNRG in the sum of £1.02 million, plus interest and costs.
The following month, MetalNRG initiated enforcement proceedings against the joint venture and LLP, saying they had failed to pay most of the amount owed.
Two weeks ago, the couple were ordered by the High Court to hand over the outstanding £574,000.
London-based MetalNRG has five major investments, including a gold mine project in Lake Victoria, Tanzania, a uranium deposit in Kyrgyzstan, and the Gold Ridge project in Arizona, USA.
In the first six months of 2022, the company reported a £1 million loss as it spent nearly £630,000 in legal and professional costs on the BritNRG case.