Sometimes big means little...

Today I was reminded the hard way what it means to "be diplomatic" and not to kick someone in the teeth when they seriously piss you off.
I had recently terminated the contract of someone who was working for me. Somehow the twerp did not agree and kept insisting that his contact wasn't terminated and that I should still be paying him. I behaved in the "correct" manner and sent him a letter via registered mail outlining the reason for the termination. Surprisingly he refused to accept this letter. Being a lawyer he should have known that this does not make a lick of difference and that notice is considered served within 48 hours of said letter having been sent via registed mail.
By this point I was seriously questioning my judgement in hiring him (he was recommended by a good contact....) as I have better things to do than getting involved in yet another dick-wagging contest.
Now, he kept sending me deadlines via emails even after I had notified him that I would only correspond via registered mail. He consequently threatened with legal action. I duly ignored these deadlines and threats because I new that he would not have a leg to stand on in court.
Now, today I got a call through Skype from our previous CEO who is also our largest shareholder. The gobshite had gone ahead and called him to whinge that I was not giving him the TLC he so deeply craved. I gave a short outline of the way this had a gone and was advised that he was threatening to put a lien on the company. Now being an SEC registered company we have to report any litigation to the SEC. This information then becomes publicly available and might influence investor confidence.
I was adviced just to pay him off to avoid litigation, even though he DID NOT HAVE A LEG TO STAND ON!
Oooh man, this sucks in a major way!
Had ours been a private company I would have invited the twerp to step outside, rolled up my sleeves and given him a long overdue whooping.
But being a publicly trading company I have now got to be nice and pay him off. As CEO I have a lot of freedom but I also have to account to our shareholders and keep the "best interest of the company" into consideration. That leaves me with no choice but to give the two-bit hustler enough to make him go away.
Sometimes it's just not funny anymore....

E.