$40K wiser... well, at least poorer (long)

[JJohnson 0]

Last September I quit my job of 10 years and accepted another one in NW Ohio. I had had enough BS and quit after getting a decent offer. I had not been gone for more than a week and I was slapped with a lawsuit from my previous employer.
Their allegation was that I had stolen trade secrets and threatened to use these against them. (I had sent home via email information for legitimate work purposes during the previous two weeks) They attempted to get a Temp. Restraining order on me and failed. I attempted to seek some sort of settlement with them, but they were not interested.
It was obvious from the start that these sub-humans were trying to strong arm me into a non-compete agreement that they didn't have when I worked there.
Knowing that their complaint was BS, we motioned for it to be dismissed. Everytime the motion was to be heard, they amended their complaint and the judge allowed it. They even went so far as to add that I used trade secrets causing them to lose a customer (which is really a hoot cause in the last six months I hadn't sold anything due to the new product being in development)
To make a long story short, once the case moved to discovery and they were forced to be very clear and concise about what exactly they were accusing me of....they decided that they had spent more money than they thought they would have to come to a resolution....and are seeking a settlement with me.
Now I know the head dickface who is behind this shit. And what it means is that he thought I would roll over at the sight of a lawyer or not be willing to fight. Once I did and they ran out of tap dances...he knew that he had spent probably $75K (their lawyer is charging them $350 an hour) and had nothing to show for it.
He fears me going to a real direct competitor and fears that the parent company in Finland would not look favorably on him for wasting cash for a trumped up charge.
There is no chance that I am ever going to get any money out of them. All I stand to gain is protection from a further lawsuit and an end to this one.
What chaps my ass is that all this dickface is getting is a little save face material with the boys back home....at my expense of $40K.
I am debating just telling my attorney to tell them to fuck themselves and take my chances. Their options are:
a) Go to trial and lose cause they don't have a case.
b) They drop the case and get nothing, but could re-file the case within a year if they choose.
c) Take whatever settlement they can get out of me.

BTW, the job in Ohio turned out to be a little on the wierd side and my wife hated being away from her kids, so we came back to Illinois.

Any thoughts besides explosives?

JJ

"Call me Darth Balls"

[CloudOnMyTongue 0]

That sucks, sorry I have no suggestions other than buy a lottery ticket.

[Ncrowe 0]

Is Ohio a " right to work" state ???, here in florida a non-compete isn't worth the paper is printed on. If its a right to work state i'd say blow off your lawyers your ex-employer can't touch you.

"Don't Mess Around With the Guy in Shades- Oh No!!! "

[spidermonky 0]

So are they asking you for a settlement of $40K? If so, I'd rather a lawyer get some of that money and fight them in court.

[NicoNYC 0]

Quote

So are they asking you for a settlement of $40K? If so, I'd rather a lawyer get some of that money and fight them in court.

I concur. That way, you can countersue and your reward will pay off your legal fees, provided you win, of course. Good luck.

How many hits of adrenaline can you take?

[JJohnson 0]

I got sued in Illinois...and yes a non-compete doesn't mean much.....but they never had one. By dragging me into a lawsuit by accusing me of stealing company secrets they were trying to get a non-compete...court ordered.

The $40K I spent is just in defending myself.

JJ

"Call me Darth Balls"

[JJohnson 0]

The $40K is what my lawyer has cost me thus far. In their proposed settlement they are trying to get me to agree to not work for certain companies for a set time period...in exchange for dropping the lawsuit.

I figure fuck them, make them spend all they can...cause they cannot possibly win and they know it, cause I never stole shit from them. They are proposing the settlement now cause they think they have spent too much on it....They could have proposed a settlement $30K ago and maybe I'd be in a better frame of mind.

JJ

"Call me Darth Balls"