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Apple shareholders sue Steve Job's estate after alleged Californian employment law breach

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By John McCarthy | Opinion Editor

August 14, 2014 | 2 min read

An Apple shareholder is suing company founder Steve Job’s estate on the claims that he entered into illegal employment agreements with Google, Intel and Adobe.

Steve Jobs died 5 October 2011

The class action lawsuit was filed by shareholder R. Andre Klein on behalf of all Apple shareholders.

Klein claims Jobs was in breach of the US Securities and Exchange Act by agreeing with the Californian firms not to delve into each corporations’ employment pool.

Job's successor at Apple, chief executive Tim Cook, has been named as one of the defendants in court.

Klein said that Job’s “zealous pursuit of profits” saw his controversial agreement artificially devalue the company and mislead investors.

The Apple shareholder, said: “Jobs's conduct is a reminder that even widely respected businessmen can knowingly commit unlawful acts in the zealous pursuit of profits.

“In this case, Jobs and the other individual defendants knowingly caused Apple to enter into agreements that violated California law and US antitrust laws.”

US district judge Lucy Koh, who will be over-seeing the case, said there was "ample evidence of an overarching conspiracy" among the corporations.

Klein financial demands have remained unspecified, however he yesterday rejected a £195m settlement from the iPhone manufacturer.

The California-based company is currently embroiled in an ad war with Samsung in the build-up to the launch of the firms’ next generation mobiles.

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