WPP seeks to seal 'highly confidential and sensitive' client information from lawsuit with former exec

Ad elephantine WPP is fighting backmost against a lawsuit revenge by 1 of its erstwhile executives, alleging that he improperly leaked delicate waste and acquisition secrets and customer information that could jeopardize its business.

The lawsuit, from erstwhile WPP exec Richard Foster, accuses the institution of retaliating against him and firing him aft he raised concerns that the group's media finance section was allegedly moving an improper world kickback operation. In a caller filing added to the lawsuit past week, Foster's ineligible squad included specifications of a purported investigation by WPP customer Sony that said WPP had tally a "fraud scheme" successful China and different markets, successful which it improperly withheld rebates from its clients.

WPP's lawyers connected Thursday revenge a mobility to seal from nationalist position respective paragraphs, figures, and exhibits from wrong Foster's amended complaint. In a memo to support its projected bid to seal, WPP argues Foster's title is stacked pinch "immaterial and salacious allegations" designed to harass the advertisement agency group and its clients.

WPP declined to remark connected the latest filings. Sony declined to comment.

William A. Brewer III, partner astatine Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors and lead counsel to Foster, said successful a connection that it was reviewing WPP's motion.

"Mr. Foster will reason immoderate effort to seal the facts of this lawsuit from those pinch an liking successful this matter," Brewer said.

WPP argues successful its filing that Sony is an uninvolved statement to the lawsuit and that its privateness should beryllium protected. WPP says that the inclusion of Sony's purported investigation into WPP is irrelevant to Foster's statement because the alleged events took spot successful China, wherever Foster didn't work, and happened aft he was terminated from the company.

WPP besides argues that Foster's title reveals "highly confidential, proprietary and competitively delicate business information" astir its ain business, including financial and capacity records, customer lists, alleged threats to its business, and forward-looking business strategies. WPP submitted to the tribunal the confidentiality agreement Foster signed successful 2018, which included connection prohibiting him from disclosing confidential accusation aliases waste and acquisition secrets astir the institution aliases its clients, either during his employment aliases aft his termination.

WPP alleges successful the filing that Foster besides violated attorney-client privilege protections by including specifications successful his suit astir backstage conversations he had pinch WPP's in-house lawyer.

It contends that successful disclosing the delicate materials, Foster sought to embarrass his erstwhile employer and jeopardize its "competitive position successful the intermezo and advertizing industry."

"The summation of salacious, muckraking allegations and disclosure of highly delicate and/or privileged accusation successful the Amended Complaint cannot alteration the sadistic truth: Plaintiff is not and ne'er has been a whistleblower, and this full suit is thing much than a disgruntled employee's naked effort to leverage an exorbitant payout," WPP says successful its filing.

Foster had antecedently turned down a "seven-figure termination package which included an responsibility of soundlessness regarding the company's undisclosed rebate practices," according to his amended complaint, revenge past week.

WPP says successful its caller filing that its objections to the disclosure of privileged and confidential accusation shouldn't beryllium construed arsenic an admittance to the accuracy of the allegations wrong Foster's complaint. WPP says it intends to record an updated mobility to disregard the case, which it says successful the filing will further reside "the deficiencies" successful Foster's complaint.