by Mike Caswell
Vancouver promoter Robert Gardner has reached an out-of-court deal to settle a lawsuit he launched in the Supreme Court of British Columbia against GeoNovus Minerals Corp. over unpaid consulting fees. Mr. Gardner had claimed that GeoNovus agreed to pay him $150,000 to introduce the company to a property in Montana, but he only received half that amount. He had sought payment of the remainder.
It is not clear if Mr. Gardner received any money in the settlement, as little information on the deal is available. A two-line consent order filed on Feb. 7 simply states that the case is dismissed, with neither party receiving any legal costs.
The order also dismisses a counterclaim that GeoNovus had launched against Mr. Gardner. The company claimed that he had not performed the terms of the alleged consulting agreement. The deal called for him to introduce the company to a property, but the property he presented was partly optioned to another company. GeoNovus had asked for the return of the $75,000 it paid to Mr. Gardner.