Judge: Fanatics can keep hiring Panini employees

A district court judge in Texas today ruled that card maker Panini "can’t stop its competitor Fanatics from hiring its employees" after nearly 13% of Panini’s American workforce have been "lured away in recent months." Panini "filed a lawsuit last week hoping for an injunction" against Fanatics that would have "halted future hirings." Panini in the lawsuit said that "seven people in 'high-ranking management positions' had been recently poached" by Fanatics, alongside 27 others. As long as the former Panini employees that are now at Fanatics "don’t solicit current Panini employees -- and so long as new Fanatics employees don’t use information and ideas from their days at Panini" -- Fanatics can "continue hiring at-will." Sources said that Panini "countered with lavish offers, but to no avail" (ACTION NETWORK, 4/17).