InfoSpace files lawsuit against founder
By Dawn Kawamoto
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
March 10, 2003, 5:19 PM PT
Wireless and Internet software provider InfoSpace announced Monday that it filed a lawsuit against its founder and director Naveen Jain.
The lawsuit alleges Jain and former InfoSpace chief software architect Kevin Marcus violated their non-compete agreements after forming software company Intelius earlier this year.
Jain serves as Intelius' chief executive and Marcus as its chief technology officer. The two men are joined by other former InfoSpace employees and former Microsoft senior executives at the young company.
The lawsuit, filed in King County Superior Court in Seattle, alleges Jain and Marcus violated their non-compete agreements with InfoSpace, misappropriated trade secrets and confidential information, and interfered with InfoSpace's contractual relationships.
Jain, who founded InfoSpace and served as its chief executive, stepped down as CEO in April 2000, and the company named Arun Sarin as his replacement. Sarin left the company after a brief stint and Jain resumed the CEO title until a permanent replacement could be found.
Last July, the company announced it would formally conduct a CEO search and in December named Jim Voelker as its new top dog. The board terminated Jain, who later told The Seattle Times he had opposed Voelker's appointment.
Jain remains an InfoSpace director. A company representative said Jain has not tendered his board resignation since the lawsuit was filed. The company provided no further details on its lawsuit.
Marcus worked at InfoSpace from 1996 until last November.
Neither Jain nor Marcus immediately returned phone calls seeking comment. |
