Even the big boys get their panties in a bind over non-compete agreements!
St. Jude Medical Inc. has sued a former member of its innermost executive circle, alleging that he violated a noncompete agreement when he accepted a job with crosstown rival Medtronic Inc.
In a complaint filed in Minnesota medical device maker St. Jude alleges Joseph McCullough had “complete and unfettered” access to its “most sensitive and confidential” information concerning global operations. The lawsuit reveals McCullough, age 60, left St. Jude voluntarily in May and went to work at Medtronic. The suit alleges McCullough had previously entered into a noncompete agreement at St. Jude which barred him from accepting employment with competitors and from revealing confidential business information before May of 2011.
My Take: I don’t think the judge will like McCullough…especially when the judge learns that in 2008 McCullough received approximately $5 million in compensation, including a base salary of $1.2 million and about $4.2 million from exercised stock options from St. Jude. Greed is not a good “color” for litigants!