Wal-Mart sues CVS over hiring of former exec

New York City -- Wal-Mart Stores has filed suit against CVS Caremark Corp. to prevent CVS from hiring former Wal-Mart executive Hank Mullany, according to a Friday report by Bloomberg.



CVS’s hiring of Mullany, former president of Wal-Mart’s northern U.S. division, would violate a noncompete agreement, Wal-Mart said in the complaint filed Thursday in Delaware Chancery Court.



According to Wal-Mart’s complaint, CVS has indicated that it intends to hire Mullany without regard to the agreement.



“Mullany’s employment with CVS will necessarily require Mullany to use and disclose Walmart’s confidential information,” Wal-Mart said in its complaint. “Knowledge of Walmart’s confidential information would be extremely valuable to CVS and will be used by CVS to gain competitive advantage.”



Mullany, who was hired by Wal-Mart in 2006, was responsible for overseeing operations at 587 Wal-Mart stores in 13 states including Pennsylvania, Virginia, New Jersey and New York, according to the complaint. He was “privy” to Wal-Mart’s national strategies and responsible for implementing those strategies in the northeastern United States, the complaint said.



According to Bloomberg’s report, Mullany signed a non-compete agreement in December 2009 when he was promoted to president of Wal-Mart North. His new role put him in charge of real estate and supply chain functions for 1,312 stores in 19 states. The non-compete agreement barred him from working for a competitor for two years after leaving Wal-Mart. He resigned in October 2010 and left the company on Nov. 5, 2010.