SEATTLE (Legal Newsline) – A trial court will need to figure out how to compensate a tech executive who left his job for what became a failed stint at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
The Washington Court of Appeals made that ruling Nov. 16 in the lawsuit of Todd Pierce, who left a high-paying position at Salesforce to become the first chief digital officer for the Gates Foundation. He was fired after 18 months and sued the foundation for breach of contract, promissory estoppel and negligent misrepresentation.
The trial judge awarded damages based on lost wages and stock options from his prior employer – a total of $4.6 million.
But that calculation, most of which contains damages for lost stock options, was made in error, the appeals court wrote.
“Here, the evidence to support the award of damages was primarily Pierce’s testimony after the judge specifically asked him to evaluate the amount and establish a value as to his stock options from Salesforce,” Judge Cecily Hazelrigg wrote.
“Some documentary exhibits were also submitted on this issue, including some basic spreadsheets created by Pierce. During his testimony, Pierce used language like ‘hypothetically’ when he explained how he had loosely calculated the stock value. In addition to lacking a proper basis in the law, the evidence underlying the court’s calculation of damages was insufficient to support the amount awarded.”
The decision said the new valuation will be difficult and will partly be based on the damages to Pierce’s marketability. He was supposed to have a “transformational” role at the Gates Foundation but it never materialized.
“He cannot necessarily expect another high level CDO position because he was doing that work at the Foundation, so the trial court must determine the value of that rather ephemeral loss,” the ruling says.
“While Pierce attempted to demonstrate the value of Salesforce compensation he abandoned when he took the role at the Foundation, that was not the proper inquiry.”