The former president and CEO of Tucson-based girls' crafts maker Lisa Frank Inc. will avoid contempt charges by returning six computers removed from company offices around the time he stepped down in October 2005, a Pima County Superior Court judge said Wednesday.
James A. Green has until Friday to turn over the computers, Judge Deborah Bernini ruled Wednesday.
A forensic computer expert will check to see if the computers contain intellectual property belonging to Lisa Frank Inc., Bernini said.
The company contended that Green violated a previous court order and copied company computer files and artwork that he could use to start a competing business, according to court documents.
Green said he never took any of the company's intellectual property and is not trying to develop a company to compete with Lisa Frank Inc., according to court documents.
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Green did not object to returning the computers, but he wanted to protect files on the computers that contain personal correspondence, including communication with his attorneys, according to court documents.
Green is involved in two lawsuits with his wife, Lisa Frank, the company's founder and namesake.
Frank and Green married in 1994, but Frank filed for divorce in September 2005, when Green was president and CEO.
Since then, Frank and Green have waged a state court battle for control of the company.
Frank sued in October, contending that the divorce proceeding allowed her to buy back Green's stock.
Frank owns 51 percent, and Green owns the rest. Green agreed to step aside as company president and CEO.
During the past 10 years, Lisa Frank Inc. sold more than $550 million in merchandise to retailers such as Wal-Mart and Target, according to court documents filed by Green in Pima County Superior Court. The company began by making stickers and has branched into clothing, backpacks and stationery.
The company employs about 80 people in Tucson, according to court filings by Green.