Mayo Medical Laboratories' former CEO officially resigned Wednesday from his new position with Mayo competitor Quest Diagnostics, based in Madison, N.J., according to the Post-Bulletin.
Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic, the parent organization of Mayo Medical Laboratories, settled with Quest after the resignation Thursday. The charges against Quest were not specified in the report.
However, the ex-Mayo Clinic executive, Franklin R. Cockerill III, MD, still faces allegations of misappropriation of trade secrets and breach of contract from Mayo Clinic.
The suit was filed on Oct. 1, the day Dr. Cockerill started at Quest, and just after he retired from more than 30 years at Mayo Clinic in late September. Dr. Cockerill worked at Quest until Oct. 14, when a temporary restraining order was issued to keep him from causing harm to Mayo Clinic, according to the report.
He allegedly attended confidential meetings for four months at Mayo between announcing his retirement in June and leaving in September, and left with memory sticks of data from the clinic. The suit claims Mayo Clinic was unable to manage conflicts of interest during Dr. Cockerill's transition because of his lack of transparency. It claims Dr. Cockerill told coworkers he planned to help his 85-year-old mother with her fertilizer business after his retirement, according to the report.
In an affidavit filed in November, Dr. Cockerill said he accepted an early retirement offer as his executive term was ending, announced his decision in July and did state plans to help his mother at the time, according to previous Post-Bulletin coverage.
A Mayo spokesperson denied this claim, according to the report.
In the statement, Dr. Cockerill claimed he was later offered the opportunity at Quest, which he accepted despite a pay cut of $180,000. His affidavit claimed the negative atmosphere at Mayo Clinic kept him from telling Mayo Clinic CEO John Noseworthy, MD, about the new position, for fear he would lose the retirement offer, according to the report.
"Based on various personal and professional interactions, I was intimidated by and afraid of Dr. Noseworthy. Further, I was frightened that if I told Dr. Noseworthy of my plans to join Quest there would be retaliatory action against me, Sherine (Gabriel, his wife who is the dean of the Mayo Medical School) or against members of my family who are affiliated with [Mayo]," he wrote in the filing, according to the Post-Bulletin.
Dr. Cockerill's lawyers withdrew the affidavit shortly after it was filed in mid-November.
"He opted for early retirement at the Mayo Clinic's invitation and is not subject to any non-compete or other agreement that would limit his activities after leaving Mayo," read an official statement issued by Dr. Cockerill's lawyers, according to the report.
Dr. Cockerill's hearing will take place Dec. 22 in Olmsted County Court.
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