Ex-Intervisual CEO Files for Arbitration

Larry Nusbaum, who resigned earlier this year as CEO of Intervisual Books, has filed a petition for an arbitration hearing at which he will seek compensation for what he alleges is breach of contract. According to the filing, Nusbaum charges that Intervisual tried to renegotiate his employment contract after it became apparent that he would receive a significant bonus for hitting previously set profit targets. After refusing the request, Nusbaum was forced to resign on April 30, the day his bonus was due to be paid, the filing states.

Beth Bradman, chief financial officer for Intervisual, had no comment on the petition, although she did say an earnings figure cited by Nusbaum was incorrect. Because Intervisual left Nasdaq at the end of 2002 and is now a "pink-sheet" company, it is not required to publicly disclose financial results, and its final figures for 2002 have not been released. For the first nine months of 2002, Intervisual had sales of $10.5 million and net income of $1.1 million.

Nusbaum, who joined Intervisual in January 2002, is seeking close to $1 million in compensatory damages; that figure includes his unpaid bonus, wages and expenses. He is also looking for an unspecified amount of punitive damages. In a statement, Nusbaum asserted that Intervisual chairman Louis Perlman and the Intervisual board used him to turn around the company and then "they plotted to renegotiate my contract and oust me."