Software company countersues trucker
A North Carolina-based transportation software provider has sued J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc., claiming the company used poor planning in its transition to a new product and intentionally used intellectual property without permission.
The response came a month after J.B. Hunt sued MercuryGate International Inc., alleging breach of contract and negligence, and claiming its software for use in the company's integrated capacity solutions business was "virtually useless."
MercuryGate, which entered into an agreement with J.B. Hunt in November 2012, said J.B. Hunt failed to "coordinate and communicate effectively" with the software's user community before entering into the agreement. J.B. Hunt purchased "off-the-shelf" software for its brokerage division and spent significant funds to have MercuryGate modify it to resemble an update of its previous system rather than requiring its users to employ the "state of the art system," according to the countersuit.
MercuryGate estimated it lost between $4 million to $6 million in subscription fees from an expected 10- to 15-year relationship with J.B. Hunt.
-- Robbie Neiswanger
Team SI of LR ranks 276th on top-500 list
276th on top-500 list
The digital marketing firm Team SI of Little Rock has been named to the 2015 Inc. 500, an annual list of the 500 fastest-growing private companies in the country. Team SI ranked 276th on the list, published a week ago.
The milestone marks the first year the firm made the list and the first time an Arkansas company has been recognized since 2010, Team SI said in a news release.
Qualifying companies must have generated at least $100,000 in revenue in 2011 and at least $2 million in sales in 2014. Team SI has added 48 employees in the past three years. The firm serves 136 clients in 16 states.
-- Cyd King
Arkansas Index falls 4.18, ends at 342.17
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, dropped 4.18 to 342.17 on Wednesday.
"U.S. stocks dropped in a choppy trading session as minutes from the July Federal Reserve meeting showed policymakers continued to express concerns about low inflation and the weak world economy, confusing expectations of a September rate hike," said John Blackwell, senior vice president and managing director of equity trading at Stephens Inc. in Little Rock.
USA Truck rose 1.1 percent.
The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.
Business on 08/20/2015