Ex-CEO sues Barnes & Noble in breach-of-contract case

A former Barnes & Noble chief executive officer sued the company for breach of conduct and defamation, saying it falsely suggested he had engaged in sexual misconduct when it fired him after just 14 months.

Demos Parneros accused Leonard Riggio, Barnes & Noble’s founder and chairman, of “falsely and irrevocably” damaging a reputation he had worked for 35 years to build. Riggio made up reasons to fire Parneros after a deal to sell Barnes & Noble fell through and then refused to pay him at least $4 million in severance, Parneros contended in a lawsuit filed Tuesday.

Barnes & Noble said that the lawsuit is an attempt to extort money by a CEO who was terminated for sexual harassment, bullying behavior and other violations of company policies. Debra Raskin, Parneros’s lawyer, declined to respond to the company’s statement, but the former CEO denied the allegations in his complaint.

“Parneros had not violated company policies and always conducted himself in a professional manner,” according to the complaint. “Given Riggio’s erratic and unprofessional behavior, the false allegations of cause to fire Parneros rang especially hollow.”

Barnes & Noble is searching for its fifth CEO since 2010 as it fights online retailers and tries to lure customers to brick-and-mortar stores.

The bookseller said in a July 3 statement that it fired Parneros for violating company policies, without any reference to sexual harassment allegations.

Parneros cited that statement in his lawsuit, claiming it was written in a way to falsely suggest that he “had engaged in serious sexual misconduct.”