The WSJ reports, on this Friday the 13th afternoon, that the Securities and Exchange Commission has opened an informal investigation into web postings by the chief executive officer of Whole Foods, John Mackey, about Wild Oats, a competitor that Whole Foods has offered to buy.
Carrie Johnson reports the story in The Washington Post here.
Blawgletter’s firm tried a case a few years back about web postings by Competitor A about Competitor B. The jury found that the poster, a non-officer VP, acted outside the scope of his employment.
We wonder whether a company could succeed with the same defense as to its CEO — even if he uses, as Mr. Mackey did, a transposition of his spouse’s name for his online moniker.
Barry Barnett
