Panel orders ex-chief to pay Gemstar

An arbitration panel has ordered former Gemstar-TV Guide International Inc. Chief Executive Henry C. Yuen to pay the company $93.6 million in damages, salary and other costs, Gemstar said Monday.

The panel also ruled that Yuen was not entitled to collect $30.9 million frozen since the executive was fired in 2003 amid charges that he and other executives were behind a scheme to inflate the company’s revenue to meet financial targets.

Yuen, who also served as chairman of the Los Angeles-based company, had argued in a wrongful-termination claim that he was entitled to those funds under his employment contract.

Instead, arbitrators found that Yuen had breached representations and warranties that he had made to the company. For that, they awarded Gemstar $80.6 million in damages.

The remainder of the $93.6-million total that the panel ordered Yuen to pay consists of $6.1 million in salary paid to him since he was fired and about $6.9 million in attorneys’ fees and costs, the company said.

Gemstar said it would seek an additional judgment for its attorneys’ fees.

“We are very pleased with the arbitrators’ ruling in this matter,” said Stephen H. Kay, Gemstar’s executive vice president and general counsel.

The arbitration panel also ruled that Gemstar could offset payments it owes Yuen under a patent rights agreement against the funds he was ordered to pay the company.

A call to Yuen’s attorney was not immediately returned.

Gemstar shares fell 12 cents to $3.65 in the regular session but rose to $3.75 in after-hours trading. The news was released after the market close.