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Industry Lawsuits Settled
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Industry Lawsuits Settled
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LAKE FOREST, Ill., Oct. 2 /PRNewswire/ --Brunswick Corporation, Outboard Marine Corporation and David D. Jones, Jr. jointly announced today the settlement of the litigation commenced last week concerning OMC's hiring of Mr. Jones to serve as its president and chief executive officer.
Mr. Jones and OMC filed the action seeking an adjudication with respect to the applicability of the Illinois Trade Secrets Act to the hiring of Mr. Jones by OMC. The parties have resolved this issue on terms acceptable to both Brunswick and OMC.
Headquartered in Lake Forest, Illinois, Brunswick is a multinational company serving outdoor and indoor active recreation markets with consumer products that include such leading brands as Zebco and Quantum fishing reels and reel/rod combinations; American Camper and Remington camping gear; Igloo coolers and ice chests; Mongoose, Roadmaster and Ride Hard bicycles; Brunswick bowling and family entertainment centers, equipment and consumer products; Brunswick billiards tables; Life Fitness cardiovascular and strength training equipment; Sea Ray, Bayliner and Maxum pleasure boats, Baja high-performance boats, Boston Whaler and Trophy offshore fishing boats; Mercury, Mariner and Force outboard engines and MerCruiser sterndrives and inboard engines. SOURCE Brunswick Corporation
WAUKEGAN, Ill., Oct. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Outboard Marine Corporation, Brunswick Corporation Brunswick Corporation and OMC's new President and Chief Executive Officer, David D. Jones, Jr., jointly announced today the settlement of the litigation commenced last week concerning OMC's hiring of Mr. Jones to serve as its President and Chief Executive Officer.
Mr. Jones and OMC filed the action seeking an adjudication with respect to the applicability of the Illinois Trade Secrets Act to the hiring of Mr. Jones by OMC. The parties have resolved these issues on terms acceptable to both sides.
OMC is a leading manufacturer and marketer of marine engines, boats and accessories. SOURCE Outboard Marine Corporation
RBBI Comments
I think the lawyers started this one before they screwed their heads on straight. Perhaps they were really thinking ahead and trying to scare each other, set a precedent so others might not try the same thing, or drive a legal reference marker down here to refer back to in the future if some problems do occur. I tend to think the execs were hacked and said, lets sue the %#$^@#&.
Jones knows to much. Besides all the industry knowledge, he knows internal operations that could be very damaging in the ongoing "monopoly" lawsuit and probably in other litigation as well. Even if Brunswick is "clean" he could just threaten to make up something. If you are Brunswick, Jones is not in a position that you would like to get "hacked" at you. I thought he would walk out of this one in a hurry, and he did. We will never know the terms of the agreement, but I suspect it included not testifying against Brunswick and Brunswick companies in some specific law suits, something about his retirement package from Mercury / Brunswick, something about any paper or electronic documents in his possession, and other financial considerations. "End of Story" in the fastest lawsuit (less than a week) these major companies have been involved in for a while. The details of this event might be released in 50 years and make another nice chapter in the "The Iron Fist part II"???
The whole matter could have probably been handled by a friendly phone call, but instead the big boys sent their legal teams in and racked up some expenses. Meanwhile, the guys back at the factory are trying to save a penny and the NMMA is having trouble collecting funds to promote boating.
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