USA: U.S. Foodservice Completes Settlement of Lawsuits With Springfield Foodservice Corporation

U.S. Foodservice recently completed the settlement of two lawsuits with Springfield Foodservice Corporation, a Massachusetts-based broadline foodservice distributor, and its owner, Joseph Cambi. The lawsuits were filed more than two and one-half years ago when employees of Springfield Foodservice Corporation allegedly breached the terms of their non-competition agreements which had been executed with U.S. Foodservice and its predecessor and subsidiary companies.During the course of the litigation, injunctions were granted by the Middlesex Superior Court of Massachusetts against the employees, Springfield Foodservice Corporation and Joseph Cambi, which prohibited them from violating the terms of the agreements. The two cases were scheduled for trial in December, 1999 and February, 2000, respectively. The settlement, including SFC's payments to U.S. Foodservice and acknowledgment of the validity of U.S. Foodservice's non-competition agreements, ended both cases.U.S. Foodservice is one of the largest broadline foodservice distributors in the United States distributing food and related products to restaurants and institutional foodservice establishments across the continental United States. U.S. Foodservice markets and distributes more than 43,000 national, private label and signature brand items to over 143,000 foodservice customers, including restaurants, hotels, healthcare facilities, cafeterias and schools, and employs more than 14,000 foodservice professionals. U.S. Foodservice's diverse customer base encompasses both independent and chain businesses.