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Kennedy Jr. lawsuit against lobbying firm dismissed |
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By Jeffrey Young
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Posted: 02/29/08 12:40 PM [ET] |
The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has “dismissed with prejudice” a lawsuit filed by an investment firm co-owned by Edward Kennedy Jr. against a Washington lobbying firm that was charged with improperly using information obtained from an employee who had jumped ship.
Kennedy’s asset management company, the Marwood Group, ended its suit against Health Policy Source last Thursday. The terms of the dismissal were not available and there were no details as to whether a settlement may have been reached.
Last October, the Marwood Group sued Health Policy Source, a well-connected boutique operation run by veteran lobbyists Dan Boston and Monica Tencate, charging that the lobbying firm unfairly benefited from proprietary information it received when it hired away Katie Simons Pahner, a former employee of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, from the investment firm.
Although the case was an employment lawsuit on its surface, the dispute between the Wall Street outfit and the K Street shop illustrated that political intelligence is a currency of great value to prospective investors and lobbying clients alike.
In a separate case, the Marwood Group sued Pahner in a New York City court alleging she violated the non-compete and non-disclosure clauses of her contract with the Marwood Group. Kennedy is the son of Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and the older brother of Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.). The New York case has also been dismissed.
Health Policy Source contended that the Marwood Group’s claims were baseless because Pahner’s duties collecting political intelligence for the investment firm’s clients were materially different from her role as a lobbyist at the Washington firm. The Marwood Group sought $2.5 million from Health Policy Source.
A call to the Marwood Group’s attorney was not immediately returned. Boston and a lawyer who represented his firm and Pahner would not comment.
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