Justin Cochrane Commences Lawsuit Against Nickel 28 and Current Board Members for Over US$30 million
Our client, Justin Cochrane, who is the former President and Co-Founder and a current holder of approximately 6.0% of the common shares of Nickel 28 Capital Corp. (“Nickel 28” or the “Company”) is suing the Company for over US$30 million in damages arising from his wrongful dismissal and the bad faith conduct of Nickel 28 and its directors.
In a Statement of Claim filed in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, Mr. Cochrane alleges that he was wrongfully terminated by Nickel 28 following a lengthy and acrimonious battle for control of the Company launched by Pelham Investment Partners LP (“Pelham”). Mr. Cochrane claims that these events culminated in a frivolous investigation against him, which was based on baseless allegations and tainted by conflicts of interest from the outset.
Mr. Cochrane has named Edward (Ned) Collery, a current director of Nickel 28 and the founder of Pelham, and Brett Richards, a current director of Nickel 28, as defendants in the lawsuit. He alleges that Mr. Richards and Mr. Collery directed Nickel 28 to launch a meritless investigation and withhold his compensation in a bad faith effort to drive him out of the organization.
Mr. Cochrane has claimed damages for wrongful dismissal, breach of contract, and unjust enrichment. He is also seeking compensatory damages for loss of competitive advantage arising out of the bad faith conduct of Nickel 28 at the direction of Messrs. Richards and Collery, which has destroyed his reputation and will result in income loss for the rest of his life.