It all depends on his contract with them and on how a court would look at it. If he worked for them (or at least showed up at the agreed upon place of work) and they didn't pay him, chances are he would be able to get this suit thrown out at an early stage in the game.
Companies do this suing thing just to keep the current employees in check (sort of a public execution just to keep the unruly peasants subdued). They don't actually expect to collect any money, they just want to instill some fear into their current workforce.
Here are the things NOT to do:
- just sit there and wait for it to blow over. (If he doesn't respond to the summons, the company will get a summary judgement without ever having to proove its case in court.)
- contact the company himself trying to 'sort things out'
- put out written allegations about his dealings with the company on an internet bulletin board (which might get him a slander or libel suit on top of the breach of contract proceedings)
Here is what he should do:
- hire an employment or contract attorney to defend him in this suit. The attorney will file appropriate motions with the court to get the suit dismissed. (during pre-trial motions, the judge will look at the companies suit, your friends rebuttal and probably throw out the case at that point.)
- have his attorney make an offer to settle to the company. Yes, they have no right to any money. But defending against a bogus lawsuit costs money and you never know where it is going to end. If he could settle this for maybe 5k his peace of mind would be restored and it would be the equivalent of what he will spend on the affair anyway.
