Steve Easterbrook, president and chief executive officer of McDonald’s Corp., walks the grounds after a morning session at the Allen & Co. Media and Technology Conference in Sun Valley, Idaho, US, on Wednesday, July 12, 2017.
David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images
McDonald’s former CEO Steve Easterbrook shot back at the fast food giant, saying the case of the company that accused him of fraud and trying to recover an estimated $ 42 million of his compensation was “deserving” and “misleading”, according to a new submitted court.
McDonald’s sued Easterbook last week, months after its board fired him for having an affair with an employee. The lawsuit filed in the Delaware State Court alleges that Easterbrook committed fraud and lied during the probation of a company in a relationship he had with an employee. The company said it found three suspects had additional relationships with employees he did not disclose prior to his fire. McDonald’s is trying to steal back the compensation it received as part of its divorce agreement.
In a lawsuit filed Friday morning, Easterbrook demanded that the case against him be dismissed, claiming that the agreement for equity issuance required legal action in DuPage County, Illinois, and that there was language in the divorce agreement the company escaped.
Easterbrook also claims that the new information that McDonald’s cited in bringing his suit – emails that were allegedly deleted from his phone but still available on the company’s server – was available for it company before the divorce agreement was signed.
“McDonald’s – a sophisticated entity represented by a number of internal and external experts when it comes to the Separation Agreement – is aware that it cannot reliably delay contract claims,” Easterbrook lawyers said in the applications. “Instead, try to do it wrong to make claims for a breach of fiduciary duty or fraud.”
The divorce agreement included a clause non-disparagement, making Easterbrook “essentially unable to make a public comment.”
In McDonald’s lawsuit against Easterbrook, the complaint alleges that Easterbrook “approved an extraordinary share payment, worth hundreds of thousands of dollars” for one of the employees while they were involved in a sexual relationship. Easterbrook’s response notes that the board has reviewed and approved the employee award ceremony.
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