A federal judge in Indianapolis has dismissed a lawsuit brought by Finish Line, Inc. that accused their chief rival, Foot Locker Inc. of stealing their employees. The judge ruled that FINL employees were not bound by any restrictive covenants keeping them from going to work for a rival company.
In filing the suit in May 2004, The Finish Line asked the U.S. District Court in Indy for damages “sufficient to compensate Finish Line for the harm suffered” due to the “wrongful acts of the defendant”. They had also requested the court to “preliminary and permanently enjoin Foot Locker” from soliciting confidential information from FINL management, soliciting FINL management to leave Finish Line, and “further acts of unfair competition.” The suit alleged that Foot Locker had actively recruited FINL store managers, regional managers, and corporate officers that have access to confidential information, including sales projections, business plans and information about the profitability of stores.
One former Finish Line employee did allegedly take some store documents with him to Foot Locker, but there was no evidence the documents contained any information that harmed The Finish Line, the judge said in his ruling.
