ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, November 30, 1996 TAG: 9612020036
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A-10 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WOLFSBURG, GERMANY
SOURCE: Associated Press
A top Volkswagen executive accused of stealing trade secrets from General Motors quit Friday, days after VW lost a bid to have key parts of GM's lawsuit thrown out of a U.S. court.
Jose Ignacio Lopez, who had been GM's purchasing chief before defecting to VW three years ago, might still work for VW as an outside consultant.
GM, which claims it lost plans for an experimental factory and auto-parts price lists, said it wasn't satisfied. The automaker wants VW to make a big payment to GM, dismiss seven other executives and to admit wrongdoing.
Pressure on VW increased Tuesday when U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds in Detroit refused to dismiss GM's two claims that invoked federal racketeering laws. The racketeering laws mean VW could be forced to pay triple damages if it loses the case.
VW's stock fell 5 percent after the decision and GM's denial that it was considering an out-of-court settlement. The stock has recovered only slightly since word spread that Lopez would quit.
VW Chairman Ferdinand Piech, who brought in Lopez, said Friday he would still like to use him as a consultant.
``I hope it's possible that he can work with us,'' Piech told reporters at the company's Wolfsburg headquarters.
Lopez had built up a reputation as a tough cost-cutter at GM when he defected to VW in 1993, taking along several other managers. Almost immediately, GM accused him of taking documents.
``The resignation of Lopez, which was more than three years overdue, can't compensate our company for the substantial damages it has incurred during that time,'' GM's German subsidiary, Adam Opel AG, said in a statement.
Opel called the resignation a ``desperate response'' to GM's U.S. court case over accusations of industrial espionage.
VW board member Klaus Liesen denied that Lopez' resignation, which was effective immediately, was an admission of wrongdoing or had to with the U.S. court case.
Shares of Volkswagen, Germany's largest automaker, gained slightly in Frankfurt on the news that Lopez had quit.
Lopez, a 55-year-old Spaniard, plans to start a consulting firm in Germany, his Frankfurt lawyer Juergen Taschke said.
``It's his longtime wish,'' he said.
GM and Opel have alleged in the lawsuit that Lopez and several other top VW executives conspired to steal trade secrets in 1992-93 when Lopez left GM. The auto company seeks unspecified damages in the lawsuit, filed in March.
Liesen denied any conspiracy existed. He said VW would continue paying Lopez' legal fees, though he did not say how long. Lopez will collect his salary through the end of his contract, which runs until March 1998, Liesen said.
Lopez expects to be charged soon by prosecutors in Darmstadt, who are investigating industrial espionage accusations made by Opel, Taschke said.
VW said Lopez had ``made excellent contributions to the company'' as a member of the board and ``achieved much success for the company through his high qualifications as an engineer and the charisma of his personality.''
LENGTH: Medium: 63 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: (headshot) Lopezby CNB