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| Demos Parneros | |
Barnes & Noble must pay half of all legal fees and legal expenses for former CEO Demos Parneros, who in August sued B&N over his abrupt termination without severance last July, Judge John G. Koeltl has ruled. Parneros had petitioned for B&N to pay for legal fees based on his 2016 employment contract, which stipulated that B&N would provide for indemnification "against all actions, suits, claims, legal proceeding and the like." The court order does not include Parneros's legal fees incurred before B&N's countersuit, filed in October.
In a striking addition to the short order, the judge noted that B&N must pay half of Parneros's "fees related to making the application for fees--or, fees on fees."
B&N fired Parneros on July 2 last year, accusing him of "violations of company policies," which it later said included sabotaging a deal to sell the company (apparently to WH Smith), sexual harassment and bullying. Parneros then sued B&N for breach of contract and defamation.
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[Editor's Note posted March 23, 2023]
On October 14, 2020, Demos Parneros and Barnes & Noble issued this joint statement:
"Former CEO Demos Parneros and Barnes & Noble have amicably settled all claims regarding his termination in 2018. This matter has been resolved with no judicial determination of wrongdoing. The terms of the settlement are confidential."