[GasAxe]

He may be completely justified in suing FCA, but part of being a good leader is not to get yourself in this kind of situation. If he was picked as the fall guy, it either means he knew enough to be culpable or he was a clueless patsy that should of been aware of what was happening under his watch. Neither is acceptable and will dog him for the rest of his career.

I just hope the culture and practices that led to this whole fiasco has been corrected.

 

[wilbur]

Wow your missing it, what you just posted shows that your missing it.... the Merit of the case doesn't matter. What he is doing a giant red flag. He is violating his NDA, he is being disloyal, his sharing inside information ………. whether is justified doesn't matter. He has every right to sue..... but suing your employer is a career killer. Every interview.... Whats the first question? Yeah it will be. Will other employers be hesitant. Absolutely. Whether you thing his suit has merit, doesn't change this. He needs to win, and he needs to make enough to change career.

or retire, either way I amazed that he is still employed with FCA no matter how much I really like him. Will be sad to see him go.
Wil

 

[aldo90731]

I doubt an NDA holds any water when the SEC calls you to testify under oath.

 

[MPE426HEMI]

Wow your missing it, what you just posted shows that your missing it.... the Merit of the case doesn't matter. What he is doing a giant red flag. He is violating his NDA, he is being disloyal, his sharing inside information ………. whether is justified doesn't matter. He has every right to sue..... but suing your employer is a career killer. Every interview.... Whats the first question? Yeah it will be. Will other employers be hesitant. Absolutely. Whether you thing his suit has merit, doesn't change this. He needs to win, and he needs to make enough to change career.

Well,I'll leave it to you....the expert. We shall see how this sh*t show goes.
Here's something you obviously don't get; he was cooperating with the demands of the SEC, during an investigation. Should he have lied and faced possible fines or jail time for FCA?

 

[TripleT]

Well,I'll leave it to you....the expert. We shall see how this sh*t show goes.
Here's something you obviously don't get; he was cooperating with the demands of the SEC, during an investigation. Should he have lied and faced possible fines or jail time for FCA?

You don't have to lie. Its not Stalinist Russia. You state you have a NDA, and choose not to violate it using 5th amendment protections.... Again it is not about the Merit of the case at all.

 

[aldo90731]

As Erik L. would say:

The SEC comes to Bigland and asks him to discuss how sales are being counted. Bigland says "Sorry, that is confidential information that I cannot reveal because our competition might copy it!"

 

[GasAxe]

NDA’s aren’t executive privilege when it comes to giving testimony.

The lawsuit is not over what he said to the SEC though, it’s about why his pay was docked. As long as it is documented that the board held him accountable for the sales count mess and the financial action taken is within reason, I don’t see where he has a case.

That said, I’ve seen people be told not to worry about being held accountable for a problem only to be given a poor performance review for the year which negatively affects their pay. Bigland may be POed about being blindsided more than the lost money. $1.8 million is a lot, but I’d be surprised if a competitor wouldn’t give him a nice signing bonus if he left FCA. He may be using this lawsuit to draw other skeletons out of the closet. I see this ending with his resignation, an undisclosed parting gift and new ironclad NDA.

 

[aldo90731]

Yeah. I don’t see him sticking around either. Once you decide to bring in the lawyers, that’s it.

 

[HotCarNut]

Wow your missing it, what you just posted shows that your missing it.... the Merit of the case doesn't matter. What he is doing a giant red flag. He is violating his NDA, he is being disloyal, his sharing inside information ………. whether is justified doesn't matter. He has every right to sue..... but suing your employer is a career killer. Every interview.... Whats the first question? Yeah it will be. Will other employers be hesitant. Absolutely. Whether you thing his suit has merit, doesn't change this. He needs to win, and he needs to make enough to change career.

He’s not violating his NDA. In any kind of Federal investigation, particularly involving public reporting (which sales are) you can’t use an NDA to withhold information. Because this suit is basically accusing FCA of lying to regulators and using RB as a scapegoat, it can’t be a legitimate violation of the NDA. That’s why the whistleblower laws and protections are in place.

 

[HotCarNut]

I doubt an NDA holds any water when the SEC calls you to testify under oath.

It doesn’t.

 

[aldo90731]

More on the Bigland suit on Auto News today How long can Bigland work at FCA amid suit?

Quotable quote:

One dealer said the lawsuit has thrust the company's sales operations into "bizarro world." Despite the strange circumstances, "here Reid is still running their sales operations," said the dealer, who spoke on condition of anonymity.​

 

[aldo90731]

This keeps getting uglier.

AN just posted this: FCA says sales chief Bigland doesn't merit whistleblower status

The automaker is arguing that for Bigland to claim whistleblower protection, he must actually believe he violated the law. He claimed he did nothing wrong.

“FCA’s whole big-picture motive is that they don’t want this case heard in a federal district court in a public docket,” Gordon [Bigland’s lawyer] said. “They do not want that, so they are making a big deal to push this litigation into the state of Delaware.”

She added: “God knows why Delaware -- other than it’s a corporate business state because none of the witnesses or parties are in Delaware. But they want it there and [they want] private arbitration.”

It remains unclear if any settlement talks are taking place between attorneys for Bigland and FCA.​

 

[Zagnut27]

This keeps getting uglier.

AN just posted this: FCA says sales chief Bigland doesn't merit whistleblower status

The automaker is arguing that for Bigland to claim whistleblower protection, he must actually believe he violated the law. He claimed he did nothing wrong.

“FCA’s whole big-picture motive is that they don’t want this case heard in a federal district court in a public docket,” Gordon [Bigland’s lawyer] said. “They do not want that, so they are making a big deal to push this litigation into the state of Delaware.”

She added: “God knows why Delaware -- other than it’s a corporate business state because none of the witnesses or parties are in Delaware. But they want it there and [they want] private arbitration.”

It remains unclear if any settlement talks are taking place between attorneys for Bigland and FCA.​

They picked Delaware because half the country doesn’t know we exist at all, and a quarter think we’re just a County in Pennsylvania...and if there’s a trial people will get lost trying to get here...so if the plaintiffs don’t show up, the lawsuit is forfeit and they win. That’s what I’m thinking anyway...others may feel differently.

 

[aldo90731]

I can see why FCA would prefer private arbitration.

Are arbiters easier to buy in Delaware...?

 

[Zagnut27]

I can see why FCA would prefer private arbitration.

Are arbiters easier to buy in Delaware...?

Well, we are the home of TAX FREE SHOPPING!!

 

[aldo90731]

New developments on the Bigland vs FCA case: FCA sales chief Bigland bites back at employer in court

Highlights:

Gordon additionally requested the court reject FCA's motion to transfer the unusual public dispute to private arbitration in Delaware. Bigland continues to be employed by FCA and has remained active as the head of U.S. sales. He also has global responsibility for Ram and is CEO of FCA Canada.

To support her request, Gordon attached a copy of FCA's employment contract, dated from 2016, signed by Bigland and then-human resources director Michael Keegan.​

Sounds like another setback for the FCA lawyers.

One has wonder if this dispute is going to end up costing FCA more in legal fees than however much it was planning to get from withholding Bigland’s pay.

 

[GasAxe]

Nothing about this case makes sense.

 

[aldo90731]

It is quite clear that FCA doesn’t want this dispute to be public.

With Bigland having such high-visibility responsibilities, FCA must have assumed that Bigland would keep mum after it withheld his pay.

For those of us sitting on the outside, if there’s anything we get about a Reid Bigland is that he isn’t one to just roll over and keep quiet.

No doubt FCA is in a tough spot: it is tangled in a public dispute with one of its star executives, in charge of one of its most profitable brands, unable to get rid of him due to whistleblower protection laws.

 

[cygnus]

They were looking for a fall guy and bit off more than they bargained for. My guess is that everyone was in on this - Sergio, Elkann, and Bigland. Sergio, bless his soul, is no longer with us. Elkann is a playboy that rarely steps foot in Auburn Hills and probably communicates with burner phones and e-mail addresses or through third parties when he needs to. Not a huge fan of the guy, but I doubt he's stupid enough to do this type of stuff on an FCA e-mail account.

Bigland probably just went along for the ride, the money was good and Tesla (daily) has done 100000000000000000x worse than anything FCA has done. Totally stupid that the courts are tied up with this nonsense when Musk is committing fraud on a daily basis.

 

[T_690]

Elkann is a playboy? Yes if his name is Lapo in which case we are not talking about FCA's Chairman.


Bigland has just inherited a reporting system which was used by ex Chrysler for the last 30 years.