Georgia developer's 30% profit-sharing claim rejected in October 29 appeals ruling

Representative Image (AI-generated) A business arrangement built around the promise of a share in future software profits ended in a legal dispute after a Georgia technology company terminated its relationship with a software developer. The developer claimed he had been promised 30% of the profits from products created by a joint venture, along with an opportunity to operate the venture using his intellectual property. However, the business owner maintained that the proposed partnership was never formally established and that the developer had already been paid a salary for his work.The Georgia Court of Appeals has now sided with the company and its owner, reversing a lower court's decision that had allowed several of the developer's claims to proceed. The October 29, 2026, ruling in Bruce Mortimer et al. v. Jeff White, available on Justia, found that the parties never reached an enforceable agreement to form a partnership because essential terms remained unresolved. The court also rejected the developer's alternative claims involving unpaid services, intellectual property and alleged trade secrets violations.A 2018 promise to share software profitsThe dispute began in 2018, when J...