In near-simultaneous press releases, Colt Studio Group and the Falcon Family of Companies announced today that a settlement has been reached in their nearly year-long litigation.
The Falcon statement specifies that it had initiated a lawsuit against John Rutherford and Colt Studio "over Rutherford's acquisition of Colt Studio shortly after his departure from Falcon Studios."
The Colt press release includes an apology from Rutherford who states "that he deeply regrets and apologizes for the mistakes made over the recent past while he was at Falcon, is happy to put these issues behind them, and additionally apologizes to Terry Bean and Conwest Resources, Inc."
Conwest Resources is the parent company of Falcon Studios. Its response to the Colt statement includes this statement from Terry Mahaffey, President and CFO of the Falcon Family of Companies: "I'm pleased that we have been able to reach an agreement on this matter, and believe that this settlement vindicates our decision to seek resolution though litigation." Mahaffey continued, "I'm also pleased that John Rutherford has agreed to issue a public apology to Conwest Resources and our Chairman Terry Bean for his actions in this matter."
Mahaffey concluded with, "Furthermore, we look forward to putting this matter behind us and continuing our policy of working with other studios to build a thriving and sustainable industry in which we can peacefully coincide and mutually benefit from."
When reached for comment by AVN.com, neither studio would divulge details (and neither party may reveal terms of the settlement), but an industry insider stated, "Obviously, Falcon was angered by John Rutherford's sudden departure and subsequent purchase of Colt—and now it's over."
