Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) has stopped paying its ex-CEO severance pay and now a legal battle is brewing over the curbed cash.
Ex-Target (TGT) senior executive Mark Tritton, who ran Bed Bath & Beyond from 2019-2022, is suing the company for withholding scheduled bi-monthly payments from an agreed-upon $6.76 million severance avoided agreement. Tritton stepped down as the company CEO in June, 2022.
Tritton’s legal team has accused Bed Bath & Beyond of breach of contract, and has released statements from the company admitting Tritton’s payments were stopped to protect its cash reserves.
Legal documentation from Tritton’s attorney show that Bed Bath & Beyond “conceded Tritton was (and is) entitled to those payments and that Tritton complied with all requirements and/or conditions.”
The court documents also accused Bed Bath Beyond of acting in “bad faith” by offering to buy Triton’s contract out “for a sum lower than the contractually agreed amount — if the company’s performance improves,”
For its part, Bed Bath & Beyond has admitted no wrongdoing, issuing an April 3 statement noting “As is our practice, we do not comment on legal matters.”
Bed Bath & Beyond recently avoided bankruptcy with a $225 million private equity offering in February, with the promise of another $800 million more in installment payments. The company has said it has plans to regain solvency by closing stores, improving supply chain issues, and solving ongoing inventory issues.
Bed Bath & Beyond is already in hot water over a separate lawsuit from a former manager accusing the company of mishandling its permanent closure of Harmon, the company’s subsidiary beauty products store.
That lawsuit charges Bed Bath & Beyond for not giving proper notice before issuing layoff notices to company staffers.
