birdwatcher: (Mr. Twister)
[personal profile] birdwatcher
Bloomberg Top -- International Business Machines Corp. can’t block its former mergers-and-acquisitions chief, David L. Johnson, from working for Dell Inc. during his ex- employer’s lawsuit against him, a judge ruled.

Johnson, a 27-year IBM veteran, would suffer unfairly in his career if IBM’s one-year noncompetition agreement kept him on the sidelines at Dell, U.S. District Judge Stephen Robinson in White Plains, New York, said today.

Dell, based in Round Rock, Texas, hired Johnson last month, triggering a lawsuit in which Armonk, New York-based IBM accused him of violating the agreement intended to protect trade secrets and retain employees. Johnson, 55, says he isn’t bound by the contract because he intentionally signed it in the wrong place.