Ford is suing former marketing executive Martin Collins as the result of a job he took with a Toyota distributor. The Detroit Free Press reports that Collins took a position as president of Gulf States Toyota; an apparent violation of his employment contract with Ford. Collins had been the general sales manager of the Ford and Lincoln brands since May.

Ford is seeking $25,000 in damages for the alleged employment contract breach and the automaker is also looking to ban Collins from taking the job. Ford said in the suit that the company is concerned that Collins could supply "confidential or proprietary information and/or trade secrets that is valuable and gives a competitive advantage to the company."

Collins' attorney, William John Bux, counters that the former Ford employee is actually employed by the Friedkin Group - not Gulf States Toyota. Bux adds that Collins will not interact with Gulf States Toyota until after the non-compete clause ends.Ford suing former exec over new Toyota-related job originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 17 Nov 2011 09:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.


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