Advertisement
In the lawsuit filed in Ramsey County District Court, the Pioneer Press claims Ridder and other top Pioneer Press executives violated noncompete agreements when they accepted jobs at the Star Tribune — which is also a defendant in the case. The lawsuit asks that the executives be barred from working at the rival newspaper for at least a year.
Ridder and others are accused of breach of contract, conspiracy, civil theft, unfair competition and other charges.
Ridder is also accused of fraud, for allegedly concealing his intent to leave the Pioneer Press so he could have continued access to sensitive information. The lawsuit claims he then shared that information — including budget data, advertising revenue, and business plans — with Star Tribune executives.
“The impact of this raid on the Pioneer Press has been, and will continue to be, both devastating and irreparable,” according to the lawsuit, which also seeks unspecified monetary damages.
In a statement released Thursday, The Star Tribune Co. Chairman Chris Harte said the newspaper disputes the allegations. “We will address these matters point by point in our legal response to the complaint and look forward to a full resolution,” it said.
Ridder did not return a phone message left by The Associated Press, but Harte’s statement said it would be inappropriate to comment further since the matter is now in litigation.
In a March 30 statement, attached as an exhibit to the lawsuit, Ridder said: “I highly respect the confidentiality of any sensitive Pioneer Press information I was exposed to over the years as its publisher. I haven’t used and wouldn’t use any confidential Pioneer Press information to create an unfair advantage for the Star Tribune.”
Ridder joined the Star Tribune on March 5, stunning media circles at a time of upheaval in the local news market. The two newspapers have been fierce rivals over the years — and the Pioneer Press had been in Ridder’s family since 1927. The 38-year-old Ridder is the son of Tony Ridder, chairman of longtime Pioneer Press owner Knight Ridder Inc.
But last year, The McClatchy Co., then-owner of the Star Tribune, purchased Knight Ridder. Since then, both newspapers have come under new ownership — McClatchy sold the Pioneer Press to MediaNews Group Inc., and then sold the Star Tribune to Avista Capital Partners.
The lawsuit says that one of Ridder’s first acts as the Star Tribune’s publisher was to copy confidential information from the hard drive of his Pioneer Press laptop onto a Star Tribune computer. The lawsuit claims Ridder also said he lost an external hard drive given to him by the Pioneer Press, then later admitted it was not lost. The lawsuit says Ridder has not returned it.
The lawsuit says the Pioneer Press hired an independent computer expert to examine Ridder’s laptop. The expert found that on March 5, virtually all data from Ridder’s computer was copied to an external storage device, including W-2 information showing the earnings of Pioneer Press employees and other confidential financial information.
The lawsuit claims Ridder shared confidential spreadsheets with Star Tribune executives, including detailed information on customer lists, circulation, advertising revenue and market trends.
“Up until March 2007, Ridder was the trusted Publisher of the St. Paul Pioneer Press ... After only one day’s notice (and much scheming), however, Ridder abandoned ship and joined Pioneer Press’ cross-river rival ...” the lawsuit says.
It claims Ridder prepared a speech about his intent to leave the Pioneer Press in September 2006 — five months before he resigned — yet he kept his intentions “secret” and continued to attend confidential company meetings.
The lawsuit also claims Ridder recruited top executives to work for him, despite agreeing not to do so. An exhibit attached to the lawsuit indicates Ridder believed he was free to hire Pioneer Press employees.
But the lawsuit claims Ridder stole a file of non-competition agreements and has refused to return it to the Pioneer Press. It also says there is no written document releasing Ridder and others from their noncompete clauses.
“In an industry where credibility is the currency, Ridder’s actions have made this a sad day,” the lawsuit says.
The top executives named in the lawsuit include Kevin Desmond, former vice president of operations of the Pioneer Press, who left to become senior vice president of operations at the Star Tribune; and Jennifer Parratt, former director of targeted publications at the Pioneer Press, who has accepted a similar job at the Star Tribune.
The lawsuit alleges that an analysis of Desmond’s computer showed mass deletions days before his resignation. It also says that hundreds of files were copied from his computer to CDs and then recopied onto home computers. The lawsuit says Desmond returned the CDs, but the information is still on his home computer.
“As the suit alleges, we believe that they have noncompete agreements that are in effect,” said Fred Mott, interim publisher at the Pioneer Press. “One of the ways that we can be sure of protecting that information is by not having them work there.”
“All we’re asking for the court to do is provide us with what we think are appropriate remedies to the damage that’s been done,” he said.
