Macandrews & Forbes Llc V. Drapkin

MacAndrews & Forbes LLC v. Drapkin

The facts of the case, jury’s decision and next possible step

The case refers to MacAndrews & Forbes LLC v. Drapkin, 09-cv-4513, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York. The plaintiff was Mr. Drapkin while the defendant was MacAndrews & Forbes LLC. MacAndrews & Forbes LLC is a holding company owned by Ronald O. Perelman. In 1987, the company hired Mr. Drapkin as its vice president. According to the accounts in the case, the amiable relationship between Mr. Drapkin deteriorated to a point such that, by 2006, his salary and duties were reduced. In 2007, Mr. Drapkin agreed to leave the company, which resulted to the contract in question.

The contract involved a separation accord and a stock purchase accord. The company would pay him a total of $27.5 million in installments, and, in turn, he would hand over to the company all of its documents he possessed. Apart from that, he was supposed to delete all company documents from his assistant’s laptop computer that at the time of his employment, his personal secretary retained, and refrain from retrieving such files for his own uses. After two years, the company ceased making payments to Mr. Drapkin. Mr. Drapkin filed a suit demanding to be paid $ 16 million in arrears. In its defense, the firm claimed that they stopped making the payments because Mr. Drapkin breached the contract they had. The trial concentrated on whether Mr. Drapkin breached his separation accord with his former employer by urging away an employee and by failing to return and delete company files in his assistant’s computer. On the other hand, Mr. Drapkin’s lawyer argued that the information contained in the files was covered by confidentiality agreements, thereby, posing no risk of disclosure. Finally, at the end of trial, the jury concluded that Mr. Drapkin had performed the obligations of the contract. Consequently, the jury granted him $16 million in restitutions. However, the verdict may not be the final whistle in the case, since MacAndrews & Forbes’s lawyers may choose to appeal. The lawyers may opine the dismissal of the claims to material breaches unlawful.

Parties in alleged breach of contract, and the alleged breaches

MacAndrews & Forbes LLC alleged that Mr. Drapkin dishonored his departure agreement with the company. The company claimed that Mr. Drapkin failed to delete company files in his possession after he left. According to the contract, Mr. Drapkin was supposed to hand over copies of company files in his possession, that is, the files the company did not have. Furthermore, he was supposed to delete all copies of the said files and refrain from retrieving them. The company alleged that numerous company files were found in the laptop belonging to the assistant to Mr. Drapkin, though such documents were