Kohnke Communications, a public relations firm which represents a number of MMO developers, is suing Perpetual Entertainment for breach of contract, several counts of fraud, and transferring assets, including Star Trek Online, to a new company before liquidating their assets.  The suit also claims that Gods and Heroes was canceled so that PE could avoid payments owed to Kohnke on the game's launch. Ten Ton Hammer has obtained court documents, and has further details on this story.

December 11, 2007 - Details surrounding Perpetual Entertainment's dealings subsequent to the cancellation of Gods & Heroes are coming to light as Ten Ton Hammer uncovered court documents of a new complaint just submitted to California's Superior Court last week. The allegation: the San Francisco-based developer fraudulently transferred valuable assets (like the Star Trek Online license) to an insider-owned corporation at a loss, leaving those with a financial stake in the now-defunct MMORPG Gods & Heroes: Rome Rising without hope of payment save legal recourse.

According to documents received last Friday in California's Superior Court for the County of San Francisco, public relations firm Kohnke Communications, Inc. – best known for promoting the efforts of numerous MMORPG developers like EA Mythic, Red 5, Turbine, and NetDevil – is suing Perpetual Entertainment, Inc. for breach of contract, fraudulent transfer, fraud, and various other charges for damages between $80,000 and $290,000, perhaps much more in terms of punitive or exemplary damages.

The complaints stem from allegations that Perpetual sold valuable assets like the Star Trek Online (STO) license to P2 Entertainment, Inc., a thinly veiled yet separate corporate entity, before executing the Perpetual ABC or "Assignment for the Benefit of Creditors" (a liquidation mechanism allowed by states like California as a less expensive alternative to the extensive litigation surrounding bankruptcy). The case could have drastic implications for future of the pre-alpha Star Trek Online title.

Read the full story on Ten Ton Hammer.

I can't see any way out of this for PE. What a shady affair.

Morons.   This is one reason why gamers have little to no faith in Dev companies.   Investors can't trust Devs either apparently.  Stuff like this will negatively affect the selection of future MMOs as potential investors become more and more wary of funding the development of some game that may, but most likely won't, ever make it to market. 

IF this lawsuit ends up in finding PE guilty and liable of damages to the PR firm, then that should be reason enough to boycott STO. 

I think this is the nail in the coffin for Star Trek Online.  What a shame too...I was really looking forward to this.  :(

Originally posted by mcquillion

I think this is the nail in the coffin for Star Trek Online.  What a shame too...I was really looking forward to this.  :(

Oh yeah, the final nail in Star Trek Gaming in general! Oh, just wait for Daron to spin this news somehow to his loyal Kool Aid drinkers over at STO-NET!

Perpetual wont survive this law suit there already in huge trouble, key word "liquidation" says it all really and means the STO mmo shall enter limbo until another company comes along and breathes life into it.

Originally posted by -Acidrain-

 

Originally posted by mcquillion

I think this is the nail in the coffin for Star Trek Online.  What a shame too...I was really looking forward to this.  :(

 

Oh yeah, the final nail in Star Trek Gaming in general! Oh, just wait for Daron to spin this news somehow to his loyal Kool Aid drinkers over at STO-NET!

sto.net arent exactly trying to spin this as positive, I dont think even daron can spin this one, and if he tries, I doubt anyone is going to believe it after this.

Originally posted by jinxit

Perpetual wont survive this law suit there already in huge trouble, key word "liquidation" says it all really and means the STO mmo shall enter limbo until another company comes along and breathes life into it.

From what it looks like right now, I hope another company will start over with the IP, and take it to another direction, one where no man (or dev) has gone before... and make an original game off a familiar IP.

Well I guess that this means no 2008 release.

But seriously, all but 2 of the posters over at STO.net are fairly disappointed in PE, and the other two are just hopeful that Stinnett has an explination.

In my opinion, I think its likely Stinnet and the other top management at PE/P2/Perpetual LLC are looking at travel brochures and thinking about leaving the country.

I certainly hope this is the final nail in the coffin of this Star Treck thing... and I hope some nice devs finally pick up that IP!!! (much like, thanks god the first Warhammer online was cancelled to make place to this new one!!!)

Well I did a little research and found this:

[Cal. Civ. Code § 3439.04]

NOTE: California provides both civil and criminal penalties against a debtor who fraudulently moves property out of the state with the intent to defraud that can range up to $1,000 or 1-year imprisonment or both. [Cal. Penal Code § 154(a)] If the property transferred is greater than $100 then the crime is a felony. [Cal. Penal Code § 154]

So, besides the debt and possibe fines, Joe Keene, Chris McKibbin, Richard Zinser and the famous Daron Stinnett are looking at possibly spending a year in jail.

Perpetual = Farlan

Need I say more?  It is really such a shame, considered that Gods & Heroes was pretty good in beta.  This company could have done something good, but seems to have made all the wrong decisions, just like Farlan Entertainment did with Dark and Light.

Wow... just wow. It seemed strange that the company could sell off assets to a clone company before paying off their debts, and obviously they were called on it. It's a real shame that all of this has happened.

wow some of them at sto.net are the definition of real fanboi's and i'm not using that in a bad way, its just even with this new news ontop of all the other crap they still want to believe in PE.   I had bad feelings about this company and little by little they keep coming true, even if they settle this out of court or something there is now way in hell i would give PE any of my money ever.

They could give it to Bethsoft which made Legacy and have experience in the MMO and they have the IP on Startrek they could perhaps get the IP on the STO MMO. Though who would want the IP on the MMO though? Who would really want it after this has been one terrible thing after another. Perhaps its best to allow STO to RIP and the franchise as well.

Though iam not surprised, though after Daron and his spin in the end of Nov about the liquidation of PE this guys has no bounds when it comes to his Kool Aid drinking spin when all the liquidation was public record he still spins. PE had no place building any game, i think the final nail in Star Trek gaming has just occurred. Startrek gaming is cursed franchise.

I guess this is the final straw.  I could see the Star Trek License getting pulled from PE, and I hope it does.  Let us just pray another compitent company will pick up the license and start the game from scratch!

Originally posted by Thecrow12345

I guess this is the final straw.  I could see the Star Trek License getting pulled from PE, and I hope it does.  Let us just pray another compitent company will pick up the license and start the game from scratch!

"

Seeing Bioware have the tech the original STO is based on they could take up the license, does sound nice but what would lucasarts say about that?

A KOTOR mmo = more like KOTOR for the Wii

A Bioware STO = Yes please!

Bioware bought the payment/support systems from Perpetual, but with Bioware being bought out, pending the end of this year, I think EA is going to replace Perpetual's system with their own.

I dont see Bioware ending up with STO. I could see EA, but I dont know about that.

What I'm interested in seeing is, will STO be thrown up for auction, and who's going to buy it? What is Gravity going to be doing about their wht, 8? 9 million loss from Perpetual? It would be interesting to see them finally end up with the STO license.

As for Perpetual, who's to say they even did any development? There has been very little evidence of anything workable in the beginning. This may have been their plan from the beginning, defraud debtors and run off with their money and license to a valuable IP.

Well that's the end of STO... shame.

well, I certainly wouldn't give money to a company that conducts themselves this way...