Tekelec Ordered to Pay Former Vice President

Tekelec, a Calabasas manufacturer of computer diagnostic equipment, in a wrongful termination lawsuit has been ordered to pay $437,000 in compensatory damages to Mark Tyson, the company’s former vice president for sales and marketing.

A Los Angeles County jury said Tekelec wrongfully fired Tyson, who was let go in October, 1990, for poor performance, in violation of an oral contract and public policies. But the jury has not yet made a decision on whether to award Tyson punitive damages. Tyson has sought $1.8 million in combined punitive and compensatory damages.

The company has not decided whether to appeal.