Ex-Wal-Mart marketing exec will not refile lawsuit

Fri Nov 2, 2007 9:05pm EDT
 
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NEW YORK, Nov 2 (Reuters) - A former marketing executive who sued Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N) for breach of contract, said on Friday that she will not try to take the retailer to court a second time.

Julie Roehm had sued Wal-Mart in Michigan's Oakland County Circuit Court shortly after she was terminated last December for fraud and breach of contract, contending that she did not receive severance payments promised in her employment contract.

Her departure came amid speculation that she had violated company policy by accepting a costly dinner hosted by Interpublic Group of Companies Inc (IPG.N) agency DraftFCB while she was reviewing advertising agencies for Wal-Mart.

But in August, a Michigan state judge dismissed the lawsuit, saying the action should have been filed in Arkansas, where the world's largest retailer is headquartered.

Roehm said in the lawsuit that she was a Michigan resident who had temporarily relocated to Arkansas for the Wal-Mart job.

While Roehm could have appealed the case in Michigan or refiled the suit in Arkansas, she said on Friday that she would not pursue it further.

"I have decided to accept Wal-Mart's decision to terminate my employment and move on," Roehm said in a statement issued by her spokesman on Friday. "I am not receiving any money or other compensation to settle my case." (Reporting by Emily Chasan)

 
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