IBM Corp. (NYSE:IBM) and its former chief dealmaker David Johnson came out swinging in their first court appearance.
IBM in May sued Johnson, a 27-year employee who for the last nine years was vice president of corporate development, to prevent him from taking a similar role at rival Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL).
At issue is a noncompete agreement Johnson signed in 2005 designed to prevent him from working for a competitor or soliciting IBM customers for one year, and from recruiting IBM employees for two years. In court Monday, IBM as expected requested a preliminary injunction to sideline Johnson while the court case proceeds.
More of a surprise was Johnson's defense. As this
Bloomberg article recounts, Johnson told Judge Stephen Robinson he "intentionally signed it incorrectly. ...[signing] the agreement on the space where IBM was supposed to sign because he thought it would prevent the contract from taking effect." IBM's lawyer called the move "calculating."
A decision is expected this week. As Sullivan & Cromwell LLP partner Theodore Rogers
told us previously, if the judge prevents Johnson from working for Dell during the proceedings, then IBM has the upper hand. If not, the advantage shifts to Dell. Either way, it appears both sides are prepared for battle.
- Suzanne Stevens
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