US upholds Richard Garriott's lawsuit victory over NCSoft

Richard Garriott, best known to gamers as Lord British, has won NCSoft’s appeal of his successful lawsuit for breach of contract, earning him $32M in the largest settlement of its kind in the state of Texas.

Garriott had sued the Korean MMO publisher after they’d attempted to claim he’d “voluntarily” departed NCSoft during his space flight. In the process, the publisher also shuttered Garriott’s science fiction MMO, Tabula Rasa. Garriott’s contract with NCsoft had begun in 2001, granting him stock options through to 2011. These stock options were to remain in place in the event of his termination by the company, but in the case of his voluntary leaving, the options would expire within 90 days of his departure.

Garriott won a partial settlement in his $47M wrongful termination suit against NCSoft. The trial lasted only three-and-a-half days, and the jury spent three hours deliberating before making the decision to award Garriott the $28 million, the amount equal to the profit he missed out on.

The $32M awarded by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals includes the $28M Garriott had won in the original lawsuit, with an additional $4M for Garriott’s attorney fees.

This past September, Garriott expressed interest in making a new Ultima game in collaboration with rights holder Electronic Arts.