GameTech plans appeal after loss in contract lawsuit

GameTech International, Inc.

of Reno plans to appeal a breach-of-contract judgment in an Arizona case.

A Phoenix jury last week found in favor of Trend Gaming Systems, LLC in its breach of contract claims against GameTech.

The jury awarded Trend, GameTech's former distributor in Texas, $3.53 million in compensatory damages, but $735,000 of that award will be offset by an award to GameTech.

Trend also can ask the court for an award of attorney's fees and costs.

GameTech's common stock was down about 5 percent the day the company disclosed the judgment.

GameTech makes electronic bingo systems.

"We are obviously very disappointed by the jury's findings, which we do not believe were supported by the facts or the law.We will immediately file an appeal," said Andrejs Bunkse, GameTech's general counsel.

He noted that Gametech previously won a lawsuit against Steven Hieronymus, Trend's managing member, and another against his sub-distributor.

GameTech this year won a case against Trend Gaming, LLC, a Kentucky company.

More than $900,000 of the judgment was personally against Hieronymus,who is the majority owner of Trend Gaming, LLC, in Kentucky.

Hieronymus is appealing the decision.

In an unrelated case in Mississippi, Capital Gaming Supplies, Inc.

said it plans to appeal a judge's dismissal of a case against GameTech.

Capital Gaming Supplies, a distributor for a company acquired by GameTech, sought $10 million in damages; it alleged that GameTech breached contracts.

A federal judge in Mississippi dismissed the claims in September.