The trustee this week filed a motion with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for Utah seeking permission to pay Johnsen $930,000 to settle the former manager's claims against Geneva Steel and its assets.

Markus and Johnsen have been at odds since last year when the trustee filed a complaint in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court accusing the company's former chief executive officer of putting his personal financial interests above those of the now defunct steel mill.

Johnsen countered that he was owed $3.5 million in compensation and bonuses - funds due him under his 2003 employment contract and for his work selling Geneva's assets before Markus took over as trustee.

He called Markus' allegations baseless and the product of a fertile imagination.

"I completely disagreed with the allegations that were made, and felt I had a good case," Johnsen said. "I feel vindicated that I'll be getting some money, but more importantly I felt like I needed to get on with my life."

Johnsen said he also will be receiving some money from Geneva's insurance carrier under a separate agreement but declined to reveal the amount.

Markus also agreed to settle claims brought in a separate action against Geneva's board for what were allegedly "wrongful acts and omissions" by directors, including Chairman Joe Cannon, who recently was named the editor of the Deseret News.

However, none of the members of the board of directors will receive any compensation under the settlement agreement.

Markus acknowledged in his motion that like Johnsen the other directors were strongly disputing the claims against them. In asking the court to approve the settlement agreement he noted that he faced "significant risks" the he would not prevail upon some or all of his claims.

Geneva filed for Chapter 11 in 1999, only to emerge from that filing to again seek a bankruptcy court reorganization two years later. Johnsen, who joined Geneva in 1991 as manager of special projects, was named president and chief executive in April 2001, just eight months before the company shut down its operations amid a flood of low-cost imported foreign steel.

Johnsen now is the president of Amerityre, a publicly held company based in Boulder City, Nev., that is developing products for the automobile tire market based upon polyurethane technology.