Alicia Napoli, the former clinical & regulatory vice president of Wright Medical Technology, Inc. is suing her former employer for breach of contract, according to a 10-Q SEC regulatory filing issued by the company on May 1, 2014.
Former Wright VP Demands Separation Pay
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As we previously reported, Napoli was part of the group of employees who left the company in 2011 after a tumultuous DPA (deferred prosecution agreement) period with the U.S. Department of Justice over company relationships with surgeon customers. New management has made peace with the feds after previous senior executives resigned or were fired.
Napoli resigned shortly after the change in management. At the time, the company reportedly stated Napoli resigned “without good reason.”
According to the regulatory filing, Napoli sued the company in state court in 2012 asserting “claims for retaliatory discharge and breach of contract based upon her separation pay agreement.” In addition, Napoli asserted a “claim for defamation related to the press release issued at the time of her termination and a wrongful discharge claim alleging violation of the Tennessee Public Protection Act.” Napoli claims she is entitled to attorney fees in addition to other unspecified damages.
On October 23, 2013, Napoli moved to voluntary dismiss her lawsuit, without prejudice. On April 4, 2014, she refiled her case in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri.
“He Said, She Said”
According to a May 7, 2014 MassDevice report, Napoli’s lawsuit claims that she was one of the Wright representatives who inked a product research and study contract with Paul Lux, M.D. a St. Louis orthopedic surgeon, in July 2010.
“In approximately August 2010, Wright Medical investigated Ms. Napoli for possible compliance violations with respect to the above surgeon’s contract…. From its investigation, Wright Medical found a purported appearance of impropriety involving Ms. Napoli, but no violation of law, ” according to her complaint.
Napoli was issued a letter of reprimand by the company in March 2011. According to Napoli’s lawsuit, she claims all her actions in connection with the surgeon’s contract, “Where at all times performed with the knowledge and consent of authorized representatives of Wright Medical.”
Her lawsuit further alleges that, “Thereafter, without prior notice or justification, Wright Medical delivered a purported letter of resignation to Ms. Napoli on May 3, 2011, with a demand for her to sign it, or be terminated under threat of a negative press release…. Ms. Napoli signed the purported letter of resignation under compulsion and duress, without benefit of counsel.”
Demand for Separation Pay Package
The lawsuit argues that the allegedly forced resignation amounts to an involuntary termination that should have triggered her separation pay package. Napoli is seeking an award “that would compensate her for all severance benefits, ” pre-judgment interest and legal costs and fees, according to the documents.
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This is a fascinating development. In my practice we've seen similar outcomes with the revised protocol. The key differentiator seems to be patient selection criteria. Has anyone else noticed the correlation with BMI thresholds?
Great point. I'd push back slightly on the conclusion, the sample size in the cited study is too small to draw population-level inferences. That said, the directional signal is compelling and worth a larger RCT.
We implemented a similar approach last year. Early results are promising but we're still gathering 12-month follow-up data. Happy to share our protocol if anyone is interested.
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