Janus ordered to pay $4.8 mln to ex-employee
NEW YORK, May 8 (Reuters) - Asset manager Janus Capital Group (JNS.N) has to pay about $4.8 million to an ex-portfolio manager who accused the company of violating his contract by changing his compensation and giving a secret deal to one of his colleagues, a Colorado jury ruled on Friday.
Jurors in state court in Denver found Janus in breach of Edward Keely's contract by cutting his pay by as much as 65 percent. The panel also found Janus's decision to give another portfolio manager a separate deal after promising to treat all fund overseers equally as a violation of Keely's agreement.
"We are disappointed with the outcome of the trial," Janus spokesman James Aber told Reuters. "At the center of this suit was an attempt by Ed Keeley to renegotiate his severance agreement retroactively through the court."
"We believe Janus fulfilled its obligations to Mr. Keely according to the severance agreement that he negotiated and agreed to in late January 2005," Aber added.
Janus has not yet decided if it will appeal the decision, Aber said. The company paid Keely $2.2 million in stock and stock-option grants as severance. (Reporting by Jui Chakravorty; Editing by Gary Hill)
