Ok, the OP's wording was weird. If this is the case, basically he was granted stock options and failed to exercise them, which would have also had tax consequen

Ok, the OP's wording was weird. If this is the case, basically he was granted stock options and failed to exercise them, which would have also had tax consequences since they must have been NSOs if he wasn't an employee. Not quite fair for the OP to talk about the contract being "f**ed" and using the word "recourse", as if the company did something wrong.