Ultima and Tabula Rasa creator Richard Garriott first filed a lawsuit against NCSoft in 2009, claiming that the games company had forced him to leave in the wake of his 2008 trip into space. He won that lawsuit, but NCSoft evidently appealed, sending both parties back to court.

And now, Garriott has prevailed over his former employers, again.

A three-judge panel from the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a $32 million judgement against NCSoft in a contract dispute with Ultima creator Richard Garriott that dates back to his departure from the company in 2008.

Garriott filed suit against NCSoft in 2009, saying he had been forced out of the company following a 2008 space flight, contrary to NCSoft’s earlier public statements that he had left voluntarily.

The distinction had significant implications for the flexibility of Garriott’s stock options in the company, which were only valid for 90 days if he left of his own accord, but would last until June 2011 if NCSoft terminated him.

A federal jury awarded Garriott $28 million in lost profits last July after a three-and-a-half day trial followed by three hours of deliberation. The $32 million appellate court ruling adds interest and attorney’s fees accrued during the trial period.

“NCSoft schemed to avoid its obligations to [Garriott] at the trial court and on appeal, and neither the jury nor the 5th Circuit bought any of it,” said Stephen E. Fox, Garriott’s lead counsel in the suit. “Contracts have consequences, and as the Court of Appeals explained, the trial court is not a trial run.”

An NCSoft spokesperson said the company was “disappointed” with the decision.

I, for one, am glad to see Garriott prevail over NCSoft; that whole chain of events was dirty pool. And in the end, Garriott was awarded an additional $4 million, a fine pot-sweetening if ever there was one.

So, how much of that $32 million will be invested in the completion of Britannia Manor III, do you think?