OAMPS has paid National Australia Bank $2.95 million to settle a court dispute – and has also agreed to bank with the NAB for the next four years.

OAMPS held a $1.5 million investment in John Maconochie’s computer systems group Idoport, which sued the bank for $50 billion for breach of contract. The case was dismissed in the NSW Supreme Court in 2002, leaving court costs of up to $22 million hanging.

Idoport is now appealing against the court’s decision and has a new backer in US-based hedge fund Elliott Associates.

OAMPS offloaded a 15% stake in the company in February, and while the NAB was awarded costs in the original decision, the group is confident it doesn’t have any exposure to the Idoport litigation.

OAMPS CEO Tony Robinson – who was nowhere near the place when OAMPS took on the Idoport “investment” – has accepted that the cost of a legal action defending itself simply isn’t good business. It might cost more than the price of a settlement, and it might even cost a lot more. As part of the deal, the bank gets OAMPS’ business for the next four years.