Judge Dismisses Part Of Wal-Mart Suit Against Coughlin
Posted on November 1, 2005 by webteam
From AP
An Arkansas judge Tuesday dismissed a large part of Wal-Mart’s lawsuit against former Vice Chairman Tom Coughlin, saying the executive and the company had an agreement that neither would sue over any events that happened during Coughlin’s tenure.
Benton County Circuit Judge Jay Finch, whose courtroom is about a mile from Wal-Mart’s headquarters, said Wal-Mart failed to show that Arkansas law required a company officer to disclose any improprieties before signing a general release from liability.
Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer, had sued Coughlin this summer, saying he misspent company money before announcing his retirement late last year while keeping a seat on the company board.
The agreement between Coughlin and Wal-Mart, signed Jan. 22, said they would release each other “from any and all liability from claims, causes of actions, demands, damages, attorneys fees, expenses, compensation or other costs or losses of any nature whatsoever, whether known or unknown.”
Finch’s order said Wal-Mart could only pursue claims for any alleged wrongs that occurred after the release was signed.
“We grant Coughlin’s motion to dismiss that part of Wal-Mart’s complaint of all allegations occurring prior to signing the mutual release,” Finch wrote. “With regard to Wal-Mart’s post-release allegations, we deny Coughlin’s motion to dismiss.”
Coughlin retired in January but remained on the company board of directors. He resigned from the board in March, when the company disclosed it was handing documents over to the Justice Department showing that $500,000 had been misspent.
A grand jury has been meeting in Fort Smith to address Wal-Mart’s claims against its former executive. Coughlin, through his attorney, has denied any wrongdoing.
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