Fired Motorola CFO Liska Strikes Back; Was He A Whistleblower?
This story was written by Dianne See Morrison.
More details are emerging about Motorola's dismissed CFO Paul Liska. Last week, we reported that a Motorola (NYSE: MOT) proxy filing with the SEC revealed that Liska had been "involuntarily terminated for cause" and that Liska had promptly turned around and sued his former employers. It turns out, according to the chicagotribune.com, Liska's lawsuit is based on a claim of "retaliatory discharge," which the paper points out is a more serious and controversial matter than "wrongful dismissal"; it is, in fact, state-court language for what the federal courts would call a "whistle-blower lawsuit." Bottom line? Liska is claiming he was fired for doing something that was protected by the "public-policy interests of the state of Illinois." What exactly that means may never be clear. The lawsuit was filed under seal, and soon after the Cook County Circuit Court impounded it, which means every scrap of information around the caseincluding docket of filings and court datesis out of reach to the public. Read more about this latest twist here on our sister site mocoNews.net
By Dianne See Morrison