In a statement said to have been agreed with the individuals and business concerned, Geobear said: 鈥淕eobear has reached a settlement with two of its former employees, Carly O鈥橲ullivan and Brian Keenan, and a newly established competing business, Subsidence Ltd, in a non-competition matter.
鈥淪oon after Mrs O鈥橲ullivan and Mr Keegan left the company, in September and October 2023 respectively, Geobear discovered that they were working for Subsidence Ltd, which had been set up by Mrs O鈥橲ullivan鈥檚 husband.
鈥淕eobear issued proceedings against Mrs O鈥橲ullivan, Mr Keenan and Subsidence and obtained an interim injunction by consent.
鈥淎 settlement has now been agreed, whereby Mr Keenan and Mrs O鈥橲ullivan have agreed to refrain from any direct or indirect engagement in a business competing with that of the Geobear group, including the business of Subsidence Ltd, for an agreed period of time.鈥�
It added: 鈥淕eobear is committed to safeguarding its business and confidential information and will not hesitate to pursue necessary action when discovering and breach of non-competition and non-poaching restrictions.鈥�
Further to the agreed statement, 聽Geobear chief operating officer Peter Luby said that Geobear would not hesitate to take further action if necessary.
He said: 鈥淭he success of our company since it was established more than 40 years ago can bring with it these sorts of challenges, so we are pleased that we have come to a settlement.
鈥淲hile imitation can be seen by some as flattery, in reality our non-disruptive ground engineering solution is a unique and proprietary one and so that leaves us no choice but to send a clear message that we will act immediately to investigate and prevent any such further problems of this nature.鈥�
The news came as Geobear announced it is now operational in the United Arab Emirates, with regional headquarters in Dubai. This takes the number of countries in which Geobear works directly to seven, having begun life in Finland in 1983 and acquiring its retiring licensee in the UK in 2012.
Peter Luby said: 鈥淥ur expansion into Dubai and across the UAE makes sense given the scale of development in the region. Our commitment to growth matches our commitment to protecting our technology, and we look forward to the future with confidence.鈥�
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