Just Group Sues to Halt CFO Nicole Peck Defection to Cotton on the AUSTRALIAN
01/10/2018 Just Group sues to halt CFO Nicole Peck defection to Cotton On THE AUSTRALIAN Just Group sues to halt CFO Nicole Peck defection to Cotton On By BEN BUTLER, BUSINESS REPORTER 12:00AM JULY 7, 2016 • H COMMENTS Solomon Lew’s Just Group has launched legal action in a bid to stymie the defection of chief financial officer Nicole Peck to retail rival Cotton On. In a lawsuit filed with the Victorian Supreme Court, Just accuses Ms Peck of breach of contract, including a confidentiality clause, and seeks to prevent her taking up the Cotton On job for two years. Ms Peck lasted less than five months as head of Just, a subsidiary of Mr Lew’s listed Premier Investments that controls retail brands such as womenswear chain Dotti, pyjama group Peter Alexander and stationer Smiggle. She quit in May. Just also sought an order forbidding her being represented by law firm Ashurst, which has in the past acted for Cotton On, because of a “a real and sensible risk of inadvertent disclosure of commercially sensitive and confidential information by Ashurst to Cotton On”. The company also raised the possibility Cotton On might be paying Ms Peck’s legal costs. However, in a judgment on Friday, judge Andrew Keogh found Ashurst does not currently act for Cotton On. In a rebuke to Just, Justice Keogh said a subpoena issued by the company seeking information about the case from Ashurst “clearly represents a fishing expedition, and has no legitimate identifiable forensic purpose”. https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/just-group-sues-to-halt-cfo-nicole-peck-defection-to-cotton-on/news-story/cd99edf8a38d5e9c774a115950a… 1/2 01/10/2018 Just Group sues to halt CFO Nicole Peck defection to Cotton On “There is no evidence to establish the probability that Ashurst will in future act for Cotton On, or that any confidential information obtained by Ashurst in the conduct of the current proceeding will be directly relevant to a future retainer with Cotton On,” he said.
[Show full text]