Boston Scientific Corp. and St. Jude Medical Inc. settle a breach of contract case over a sales rep who jumped ship from Boston Scientific’s Guidant Corp. subsidiary.
Boston Scientific Corp. (NYSE:BSX) and St. Jude Medical Inc. (NYSE:STJ) agreed to settle a breach of contract case involving a former Guidant Corp. sales rep who allegedly tried to lure his former colleagues to St. Jude.
Douglas Nock was vice president of sales for Boston Scientific’s western territory from 2005 until he left Dec. 12, 2009. Guidant sued Nock and St. Paul, Minn.-based St. Jude, alleging that Nock broke the non-compete clause in his contract and accusing him of reaching out to his former co-workers to try and entice them to work for his new employer, according to court documents.
Terms of the settlement were not disclosed in the documents. A St. Jude Medical spokeswoman told MassDevice the company “is unable to comment” on the case. A representative from Boston Scientific did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
It’s not the only spat between the two medical device giants. St. Jude and Blaire Kiland sued Boston Scientific last year, accusing BSX of breaking California regulations in luring Kiland away from then-employer Medtronic Inc. (NYSE:MDT). Boston Scientific was in the throes of a shipment hold for its ICDs and pacemakers at the time, meaning Kiland had nothing to sell upon his arrival in California. He then quit and took a job with St. Jude.
That lawsuit prompted a counter-suit from Natick, Mass.-based Boston Scientific, accusing Kiland of violating the noncompete clause in his employment contract.
The Massachusetts Medical Devices Journal is the online journal of the medical devices industry in the Commonwealth and New England, providing day-to-day coverage of the devices that save lives, the people behind them, and the burgeoning trends and developments within the industry.
