Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings and four former directors have asked a Miami-Dade judge to throw out former President and CEO Frank Del Rio’s compensation lawsuit for good, arguing his own court filings conceded the case away.
In a joint reply filed Aug. 25 in the Eleventh Judicial Circuit, attorneys for NCLH, NCL (Bahamas) Ltd. and former directors Russell Galbut, Harry Curtis, Mary Landry and Stella David said Del Rio’s opposition brief abandoned one count and undercut the rest.
Del Rio sued in May, alleging he was induced to retire early in exchange for a 4.5-year consulting arrangement worth $18 million, only to receive a written agreement covering 2.5 years and $10 million. He is seeking the disputed $8 million balance.
The defense said Del Rio acknowledged the alleged two-year oral extension is barred by Florida’s Statute of Frauds and described it as unenforceable.
The reply also argued Del Rio pleaded himself into a problem. His complaint describes a sitting CEO who knowingly agreed to keep an $8 million arrangement outside the written Transition, Retirement and Consulting Agreement to avoid another failed Say-on-Pay vote, the defense said.
On the fraud counts, the filing said Del Rio conceded the complaint does not identify exact dates or separate out what each director allegedly said, and proposed using discovery to refine the allegations.
