IBM Unit Gets Novel Court Win on Equity Option Against Executive

An IBM Corp. affiliate scored a first-of-its-kind court victory Thursday when it secured the right enforce equity repurchase options against a former executive for suing it.

The company can invoke statements made in legal filings by the ex-employee to trigger the provisions in a nondisparagement clause he signed, a Delaware judge said. Although the litigation privilege would have shielded the executive from direct liability for bringing a lawsuit, owning a piece of the company he disparaged involves a different set of concerns, the judge found.

“The specter of potentially chilling litigation by enforcing the repurchase option is far weaker,” Judge ...