A federal judge granted Cigna a temporary restraining order in its lawsuit alleging former executive Amy Bricker's departure for rival CVS Health violated a noncompete agreement, Bloomberg Law reported Feb. 15.
A docket entry stated only that a temporary restraining order has been granted, without elaborating as to its scope and to whom it applies, according to the report. Lawyers who were at a closed hearing declined to comment to Bloomberg.
Ms. Bricker served as president of Cigna's pharmacy benefit manager, Express Scripts. She resigned Jan. 10 to become CVS' executive vice president and chief product officer-consumer. Ms. Bricker was to assume her new position Feb. 20, according to the report.
Cigna sued CVS and Ms. Bricker on Jan. 26, three days after her appointment was officially announced. Cigna is asking a federal court in St. Louis to block her from starting her new position. The lawsuit was filed after negotiations over the move allegedly reached an impasse, according to the report.
Cigna alleged in the lawsuit that CVS' hiring of Ms. Bricker puts its trade secrets at risk.
Express Scripts beat CVS' Caremark last year for a $35 billion PBM contract with Centene. Ms. Bricker led Express Scripts' efforts, which led to a "high six-figure spot bonus," according to the lawsuit.
CVS said that Ms. Bricker's noncompete clause is unenforceable because it's overly broad and anti-competitive, according to the report. The company also argued it doesn't apply to her new position because it will be unlike her Cigna role.
Cigna did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Becker's. A CVS spokesperson previously told Becker's the company does not comment on legal proceedings.