News Corp law suit leads to early start at Mail Online for Luke McIlveen
Luke McIlveen looks set to start as editor of the local version of the Mail Online in February after reaching an out of court settlement with former employer News Corp, which had sued him over his defection to the rival publisher.
As Mumbrella revealed in early December former News.com.au editor McIlveen has been lined up to lead the new online version of the Daily Mail which is launching in Australia as a joint-venture with Mi9.
McIlveen and lawyers from News Corp fronted court on December 24, with a report in the Sydney Morning Herald saying the dispute was over an “oral agreement” as to when the editor could start work for the competitor immediately, after being walked out of the Holt Street headquarters of News Corp when his defection was announced.
A follow-up hearing scheduled for December 31 never happened as both sides reached an out of court settlement, and Mumbrella understands the terms of the agreement mean McIlveen will be able to take the post as editor in mid-February, despite having a three-month non-compete clause in his News Corp contract.
Under McIlveen’s guidance News.com.au became the top news website in the country according to Nielsen statistics, however it lost the top spot to the Sydney Morning Herald in November, as the Mail Online entered the top ten for the first time.
Mi9 declined to comment on the case, or confirm McIlveen as the new editor of the online publication, and News Corp said no new editor has been appointed to News.com.au.
An oral agreement is not worth the paper it’s written on.
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