If you’re a fan of Netflix or Amazon, this news release about the companies being sued by a former executive may interest you. The April 1 report states that while the two companies are rivals, they are both named in a lawsuit that claims a man was wrongfully terminated and defamed by the companies. The lawsuit filed in the Los Angeles Superior Court states that the man is seeking at least $1 million for his wrongful termination plus damages that could be worth millions more.
If you’ve worked at a company with a non-compete clause, then you know you have to be careful when moving to a similar position with a different company. You can’t share information about one company with the other, but as long as you don’t, you should be able to work there freely. That may not be the case for this man.
The man, who was the former Director of Content Acquisition for Netflix, reported that he believes he was blacklisted when he left the company to join Amazon’s streaming business. He believes that Netflix falsely accused him of stealing confidential information, discussing confidential information with Amazon and using that information to compete against Netflix. The lawsuit claims that the man said Netflix did everything it could to keep him from leaving to join Amazon, but when he did, it tried to ruin his reputation and use its leverage its business relationship with Amazon to make sure he’d be fired. He also thinks that the company has made it difficult to find comparable and secure employment.
The man claims that Netflix had a hostile environment, which might make you leave a job, too. He claims he left because of it, and he took the job at Amazon when the opportunity arose. He reported that the top executive at Netflix said he would regret leaving to go to Amazon. The man has faced a number of issues with Netflix since, according to the report, including the company wanting his personal computer and accounts to make sure he hadn’t shared Netflix’s information with Amazon.
He was allegedly cleared of any wrongdoing following that investigation. He claims that before the investigation was ever completed, Netflix made sure that Amazon would be firing him regardless of the findings. He wants a jury to hear his case.
Source: Deadline.com, “Netflix & Amazon Slapped With Multimillion-Dollar Lawsuit By Former Exec” Dominic Patten, Apr. 01, 2014