BlackBerry has filed a lawsuit against one of its own executives over his decision to leave the company for a position at Apple, as noted by iMore. Sebastien Marineau-Mes is BlackBerry’s Senior Vice President of Software until Apple offered him a role as Vice President of Core OS last December. That’s when Marineau-Mes told BlackBerry he’d be quitting in two months for Cupertino.
A Canadian court ruling issued on Tuesday reveals BlackBerry is holding an employment contract over SVP of Software Sebastien Marineau-Mes’ head, blocking his departure from the flailing company after being hired away by Apple last year. The Ontario Superior Court of Justice’s ruling notes Marineau-Mes discussed leaving BlackBerry in September of 2013 and was formally offered the position of VP of Core OS in December, reportsiMore. He accepted and handed in his letter of resignation on Dec. 23. According to the court document, BlackBerry then sued Marineau-Mes over a breach of contract terms that stipulated the executive needed to provide at least six months notice before leaving the company. That contract was signed in September when the company promoted Marineau-Mes. At the time, BlackBerry was carrying out a freeze on all promotions.
