Credit & Debt: Judge Refuses To Block Nardelli Payout

It would seem that deposed and embarrassed ex-Home Depot CEO Bob Nardelli at least gets to walk home with the golden egg:

A Superior Court judge denied a request by a group of shareholders of The Home Depot to temporarily block the company from paying former Chief Executive Bob Nardelli any more of his $210 million severance package.
Darren Robbins, a lawyer for the investors, said Judge Craig Schwall did rule that several current and former senior officers and directors of the company, including Nardelli, will be subject to depositions.
Robbins said Nardelli's attorney indicated during a hearing yesterday in Atlanta that Nardelli will not dissipate any more of the money from his severance until the lawsuit by the investor group is resolved. But Robbins acknowledged Nardelli can if he wants to.

This only tangentially relates to housing, but it does fit as a perfect example of how people who have been brainwashed into believing that investing into what seems like a sure thing--be it real estate or homebuilder stocks--and then lose everything while the puppet masters get away clean.

Two more interesting perspectives on this issue. One, from the Australian, laments the growing trend towards opaque private equity firms right at the time when public firms and stocks are starting to tank (The article mentions Nardelli specifically):

Managers should be stewards of their companies, not merely semi-detached financial engineers. To illustrate the difference, consider people who think "home" and those who think "house" about where they live, says Mark Goyder, director of the London-based think tank Tomorrow's Company.If you think "home" there is an assumption of continuity. "Money is spent that cannot be recovered in the event of an early sale but adds to the individual character of that home," he says.

Excellent analogy, no? Also enjoy reading this piece from Morningstar on how to avoid failures like Nardelli's in the future.

Posted at January 23, 2007 12:21 PM

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It would seem that deposed and embarrassed ex-Home Depot CEO Bob Nardelli at least gets to walk home with the golden egg: A Superior Court judge denied a request by a group of shareholders of The Home Depot to temporarily block the company from paying former Chief Executive Bob Nardelli any more of his $210 million severance package. Darren Robbins, a lawyer for the investors, said Judge Craig Schwall did rule that several current and former senior officers and directors of the company, including Nardelli, will be subject to depositions. Robbins said Nardelli's attorney indicated during a hearing yesterday in Atlanta that Nardelli will not dissipate any more of the money from his severance until the lawsuit by the investor group is resolved. But Robbins acknowledged Nardelli can if he wants to. This only tangentially relates to housing, but it does fit as a perfect example of how people who have been brainwashed into believing that investing into what seems like a sure thing--be it real estate or homebuilder stocks--and then lose everything while the puppet masters get away clean. Two more interesting perspectives on this issue. One, from the Australian, laments the growing trend towards opaque private equity firms right at the time when public firms and stocks are starting to tank (The article mentions Nardelli specifically): Managers should be stewards of their companies, not merely semi-detached financial engineers. To illustrate the difference, consider people who think "home" and those who think "house" about where they live, says Mark Goyder, director of the London-based think tank Tomorrow's Company.If you think "home" there is an assumption of continuity. "Money is spent that cannot be recovered in the event of an early sale but adds to the individual character of that home," he says. Excellent analogy, no? Also enjoy reading this piece from Morningstar on how to avoid failures like Nardelli's in the future.