Coughlin Drops One Of Three Claims
Trial About Benefits Set For Thursday
Last updated Monday, August 18, 2008 8:20 PM CDT in News
By Richard Dean Prudenti
THE MORNING NEWS
BENTONVILLE -- Tom Coughlin, former vice chairman for Wal-Mart Stores Inc., is voluntarily dismissing one of three claims in his countersuit against the retail giant.
Attorneys for Coughlin filed a motion Monday to dismiss the breach of contract claim against Wal-Mart.
Wal-Mart sued Coughlin in Benton County Circuit Court, attempting to void a retirement agreement made with Coughlin when he ended his 28-year employment in January 2005. The agreement was made before an internal investigation revealed his use of company money and gift cards to pay for $500,000 in personal items.
Coughlin's counterclaim seeks rights to the retirement package worth up to $15 million.
"If they lose, that by its very nature would mean they are bound by the (retirement) contract. So our breach of contract claim is basically superfluous," said Timothy Brooks, one of Coughlin's attorneys.
W.H. Taylor, another of Coughlin's attorneys, said this dismissal would make the case easier to try in front of a jury.
Another motion filed Monday states that 30 hours of internal Wal-Mart video footage the company wants to introduce should be excluded from trial.
A jury trial is set to begin Thursday before Circuit Judge Jay Finch. Wal-Mart demands Coughlin return $400,491 -- a retirement payout the company mistakenly made in April 2005.
Coughlin now is serving a 27-month sentence of home detention, after pleading guilty to wire fraud and tax evasion in February 2006 in federal court.
Reader Comments (No comments posted.)
The following comments are provided by readers and are the sole responsibility of their authors. The Morning News does not review comments before their publication, nor do we guarantee their accuracy. By publishing a comment here you agree to abide by our comment policy. If you see a comment that violates our policy, please notify the web editor.
Not already registered?
