Planet Fitness, Newington, New Hampshire, has dismissed its lawsuit against a former corporate payroll manager who it accused of stealing confidential company information.
The manager, Jason Cole, received an undisclosed sum of money from Planet Fitness parent company Pla-Fit Franchise LLC as part of a settlement, according to a Portland Press Herald report.
Attorneys for both parties agreed to dismiss the case on Nov. 10, according to court records. Additional details on the settlement are private, including the sum paid to Cole, Cole's attorney Paul Aranson told the Press Herald. Cole called the settlement a "full reversal" by Planet Fitness and said the allegations were "totally not true," according to the Press Herald.
Planet Fitness sought injunctive relief against Cole in a complaint filed with the U.S. District Court in Maine on August 10, the same day Cole's employment was terminated by the company. He allegedly threatened to disrupt Planet Fitness' initial public offering by publicly disclosing a confidential email not intended for him, and Planet Fitness said it believed he would misappropriate other company information.
Planet Fitness spokeswoman McCall Gosselin said the lawsuit was filed "out of an abundance of caution" to protect the company and its employees.
"We have worked constructively with Mr. Cole and have been given assurances by him that he has no personal or confidential company information, nor has he misappropriated or disseminated any such information," Gosselin said in a statement. "As such, and as part of a settlement, we are dismissing the lawsuit against Mr. Cole."
In his position as payroll manager, Cole was responsible for managing all aspects of centralized payroll processing and reporting for corporate headquarters and corporate club employees in the United States and Canada.
Cole had access to information on approximately 900 corporate employees, including the executive team, according to the Aug. 10 complaint. He will not return to work at Planet Fitness as part of the settlement, according to the Press Herald.