Everybody Loves Basil

A Viking in-house communication confirms that Basil Larkin will be joining Viking as VP of Sales.  
UPDATE Jan 10:  Or maybe not everybody.  Two sharp eyed readers sent this in.  Whirlpool filed suit on December 12, 2007 against Basil Larkin and Viking Range Corporation.  An abbreviated summary can be found HERE.  The complete complaint seems to be restricted.
To read the run up to the lawsuit as reported in ApplianceAdvisor.com.  Click HERE. 
UPDATE Jan 25:   Is all this simply Whirlpool miffed that Mr. Larkin left from the back door even before the front door had a chance to close?   Who the hell wouldn't be?   In the documents that we've received, Whirlpool is suing based on the employment contract and the confidentiality agreement that Mr. Larkin signed.  Whirlpool believes that Mr. Larkin was witness to confidential information such as the profit plan, market segment analysis, and the future plans for Jenn-Air and KitchenAid.  Mr. Larkin, based on the information provided to us, agrees that he has seen these things, but denies that all of Whirlpool's claimed confidential information is in fact confidential.  We're not lawyers, but that sounds like Mr. Larkin has agreed that at least some of the information was confidential information.  OK then, why sue Viking?  Can't Viking use confidential information that it did not beg, borrow, buy or steal but which comes into their possession legally?  Dunno. 
If we could take a totally wild-ass guess at what irks Whirlpool, perhaps it is the loss of their "secret" strategy for the repositioning of the Jennair brand as a direct competitor to GE Monogram and a better match for Viking, Wolf etc.  Ooops.  I've done it this time.  Now they're pissed.
EDITOR'S DISCLAIMER:  The above guess is provided strictly for entertainment purposes only.  ApplianceAdvisor.com has no current or prior knowledge of, or access to, Whirlpool's confidential information.  Readers and users of ApplianceAdvisor.com use this "guess" at their own risk.