Hiring competitor's employee becomes racketeering? Casinos duke it out

When hiring new employees—especially ones who are currently employed or were recently employed by a competing company or organization—it's always a best practice to ask if they're subject to an employment contract from a previous employer. Failing to do so can sometimes lead to serious consequences, such as the following lawsuit involving two luxury Atlantic City casinos and claims of unfair competition.

New hires spark litigation from rival casino

In a case filed recently in federal court in Nevada, Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa has accused its rival, Ocean Casino Resort, of luring away top marketing executives and stealing trade secrets aimed at attracting the business of profitable high rollers.

According to the lawsuit, Ocean first targeted William Callahan, Borgata's vice president of relationship marketing, and Kelly Ashman Burke, Borgata's executive director of marketing. After Burke and Callahan were on board at Ocean, the casino resort allegedly enticed four more employees to leave Borgata and come to work for it. In addition to suing its competitor, Borgata named Callahan and Burke as individual defendants in its lawsuit against Ocean. The lawsuit seeks damages, injunctive relief, and enforcement of the two marketing leaders' employment agreements.