MCI, if they don't renegotiate his contract, then Tom Horton just became one of the most eligible airline consultants and executives ever imagined.
Why? His non-compete would no longer be enforceable. Less clear if his NDA's would be enforceable (maybe Veritas or FWAAA could offer an opinion on that). The lawsuit againt
Something that usually gets lost in the emotion of arguing over executive contracts and parachutes:
You're not only paying them to leave -- you're paying them leave, and keep their mouth shut. To sit on the sidelines for the next 2-3 years, depending on the length of the NDA and non-compete.
If NewCo doesn't negotiate new terms, there's nothing that would stop Horton from becoming a consultant to Delta, United, or any other airline who would love to have all the knowledge locked up in his head. Lots of details cross a CEO's desk.
Back in the day of paper reports & presentations on slide film (oh, the fun of having to finish a presentation 36 hours in advance just to have the slides developed...), you could fire an executive, and watch over what they packed into their cardboard box of belongings...
Today, with webmail, USB thumb and hard drives, it's a really dangerous proposition to assume that a senior employee doesn't have information "just sitting around" on a personal storage device after they leave.
Heck, I just found a box of 3.5" floppy's not too long ago when cleaning out my garage. All of them were work files from AA. I probably have a few CD's from backing up my work laptop as well. As I type, my wife is reading her webmail, and downloading an attachment onto her house PC...
So... think of all the intimate details of AA's new plan that Tom or any other exec would be exposed to, and imagine him sitting across the table from the guys at WN, UA or DL...
