Apple informed a Massachusetts judge on Tuesday that it is in discussions with A123 Systems to settle a lawsuit out of court which alleges Apple poached key engineers from the battery maker for a secret internal project of its own.
Apple revealed that settlement talks were underway in a motion requesting an extension on the time to respond to A123’s accusations of employee poaching. Presiding Judge Douglas P. Woodlock subsequently issued an electronic order granting the motion. The filing was spotted by Reuters earlier today.
A123 claims Apple lured five executives away from the company’s System Venture Technologies Division. While A123 did not reveal what projects the executives were working on, it claims each of the projects were shut down due to a lack of suitable replacements.
Alongside Apple, defendants in the suit include former A123 executives Mujeeb Ijaz, Don Dafoe, Michael Erickson, Depeng Wang and Indrajeet Thorat, all of whom recently left the company for Apple.
Former program lead and company CTO Ijaz is a key target in the suit, as A123 alleges he lured one or more of his former colleagues to Apple after joining the iPhone maker. Such an action would constitute a breach of contract.
A123 first filed suit against Apple last month, adding fuel to the rumors that Apple is working on a secret electric vehicle project.
