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Follow on Google News | Cynergy Settlement Paves the Way for Continued Legal Gains, Says Quantum Group President Sam ChaninLed by president and founder Sam Chanin, The Quantum Group will continue to work with a leading payments system commercial litigation firm to support its goal of revitalizing the ISO community.
A two-year legal battle that began in the summer of 2009, the Cynergy proceeding concerned the improper withholding and underpayment of residuals by Cynergy. After Tribul scored an initial win in state court, Cynergy filed for bankruptcy, and avoided having to pay Tribul and its affiliated company, Second Source Funding, residuals for many months. Since Cynergy was Tribul and SSF's largest source of revenue at the time, ISOs were unable to pay the Tribul agents their portion of the residuals, undermining the reputation of the ISOs and their executives among sales agents. Shapiro’s legal team scored a victory for Chanin and his ISO on the eve of the Cynergy trial, Feb. 1, 2012, when the processor agreed to settle. The financial terms of the settlement are confidential, but Chanin noted that The Quantum Group is free to pursue additional damages against the current Cynergy company, individual current and former employees and strategic partners, vendors and owners of Cynergy who participated in and benefited from the 2009 scheme. "We were thrilled to see a favorable end to our arduous dispute with Cynergy. Beyond the results, I was impressed and inspired by Mitch Shapiro's passion and commitment to our plight. Currently, Mitch and his team of lawyers are working with us (i) to restructure the ISO deal with Cynergy that was put into place right after the bankruptcy filing, (ii) to sue NPC, Vantiv and Fifth Third for damages that BPS suffered when NPC tried a similar tactic during 2009 (and which practices continued after Fifth Third/Vantiv acquired NPC), and (iii) to recover the accounts and other assets that many former Tribul, BPS and SSF agents, executives and other partners stole from us during those dark days, when we didn’t have the resources to protect ourselves," Chanin said. Chanin sought out Shapiro’s help back in 2009 based on his prior track record of success in cases within the payments systems industry and in other fields. Mitch served a visible and prominent role for the plaintiffs in the landmark Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. et al v. Visa and MasterCard (a/k/a In Re Visa Check/MasterMoney Antitrust Litigation), nicknamed the "Wal-Mart case," which featured one of history's largest civil actions. Representing Wal-Mart and multiple trade associations, Shapiro played a major role in all aspects of the 10-year litigation and negotiation of the most substantial antitrust settlement to date on the morning of the trial; the agreement featured a common fund exceeding $3 billion, with injunctive relief that changed the debit card market. Chanin was also impressed with how highly Edward M. Labry, the Chief Executive of First Data, spoke of his old friend Mitch Shapiro, recounting Shapiro’s work for Labry's company Concord EFS, Inc. in its disputes with MasterCard, Visa, Deluxe Data, and the States of New Jersey and Maryland. "I’ve been around this industry a long time and have haven’t seen legal talent that compares with the expertise and service provided by Mitch Shapiro and his team of lawyers," said Randy Sagar, a former NPC executive and the CEO of the Quantum Processing Group . "Mitch Shapiro and his firm are a force to be reckoned with," said Rick Blesofsky, the former President of Operations at Tribul and a part of the new Quantum Merchant Services team. “I'll never forget the moment when Mitch disclosed to everyone during a fierce pre-trial argument with the Cynergy Trustee that his zodiac sign was Taurus, and Tribul’s logo is a bull, and reminded all of the old adage, 'If you mess with the bull, you better be prepared to get the horns.' With Mitch by our side, I think members of the industry will think twice before messing with us again." Chanin said, "With a leading industry lawyer putting his firm to work guiding and protecting us, The Quantum Group is optimistic that our Quantum Group will emerge as an industry leader, a position we're eager to reclaim by providing the very best in technical support and customer service, introducing innovative new products, and forging lasting relationships with our vendors and partners. I and the other Quantum executives are thankful for the chance to build ourselves a smarter, stronger company than ever before." To learn more about The Quantum Group, visit http://processquantum.com/ End
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