PulteGroup Inc. has fired its incoming chief operating officer after the grandson of the company's founder sued the executive this week, alleging he harassed him on Twitter.
Brandon Jones, senior vice president of field operations, will leave the company "effective immediately," according to a news release issued Friday, after "an independent investigation" determined he'd violated the company’s code of ethical business conduct. Jones was set to become the Atlanta-based homebuilder's second in command next month.
The announcement comes after Bill Pulte, the grandson of the late William J. Pulte — who started the firm in Detroit in the 1950s — sued Jones on Wednesday. In the defamation lawsuit, he accuses the defendant of holding a grudge against him and using several fake Twitter accounts to harass him and other Pulte family members.
