A Medical Device Daily

GeneLink (Orlando, Florida) reported that its former CEO/president, John DePhillipo, has filed a complaint against the company in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas.

As a result, the company said it had delayed its fileing of a quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the period ended June 30. DePhillipo was terminated by the board of directors of GeneLink in 2005.

This is the third action filed in three different courts by DePhillipo against the company and/or its officers and directors relating to his termination. In November 2005, he sued an officer and director of the company for nearly $10 million, alleging wrongful termination and breach of contract. That suit was dismissed with prejudice in March 2006.

DePhillipo also sued the company in 2005 for more than $1.5 million, again alleging wrongful termination and breach of contract. In addition to defending that suit, the company asserted counterclaims against DePhillipo for breach of fiduciary duty, conversion, negligent misrepresentation, unjust enrichment and fraud.

DePhillipo's claims and the company's counterclaims were settled earlier this year, and all actions under the settlement were completed in June.

Under the terms of the settlement, the parties exchanged releases, DePhillipo and certain members of his family sold their remaining shares of company stock to the company for 6 cents a share, and the company also paid DePhillipo $220,000.

In his third complaint, DePhillipo now alleges that he and his wife suffered more than $20 million in damages because the company and others misled him into entering into the settlement described above and selling his stock to the company at an "inappropriately" low price.

The company and its board of directors deny the claims set forth in DePhillipo's most recent complaint, saying they intend to "vigorously" defend against those claims, and are considering taking additional appropriate actions.

Monte Taylor, CEO of GeneLink, said, "This is now the third action brought by Mr. DePhillipo against the company and its officers. His first action was dismissed. GeneLink reluctantly agreed to settle the second action and to purchase the DePhillipos' shares so that it could move forward instead of fighting about the past. We are therefore very disappointed that DePhillipo has again chosen to devote his time to suing the company."

GeneLink is a biosciences company specializing in consumer genomics.