Patrón Tequila settles lawsuit by former executive

Patrón Tequila has settled a lawsuit launched by a former executive who claimed he was owed more than US$70 million in bonuses before he was fired.

Patrón Tequila has settled a lawsuit launched by a former executive, who claimed he was fired without receiving an “extraordinary” bonus

As reported in the Los Angeles Daily News, Ajendra Singh began legal proceedings against the high-end Tequila producer in 2009, alleging that the terms of his contract had been violated when he was not paid an “extraordinary bonus”.

He was sacked from the company in 2008 due to allegations of sexual harassment and abusive behaviour.

Court documents show that Singh did not undertake legal proceedings against the termination of his employment, but claimed that “his termination was baseless and a mere pretext for denying him the bonus”.

Singh claimed that in 2003, he was promised an equity bonus based on his work on new Tequila factory in Mexico, depending on the subsequent increased value of the company five years later.

Legal representatives Singh claimed that the added value was about US$70m, and that Singh was owed this amount in unpaid bonuses.

However, a settlement was announced while the parties were on trial at Los Angeles Superior Court, where testimony began in March this year.

The terms of the settlement have not been disclosed.