Chrysler takes Lido to court over Kerkorian

Now that Lee A. lacocca seemingly has his divorce behind him, he looks forward to another legal battle - this one with the company he rescued from oblivion. Chrysler files a lawsuit in Oakland County Circuit Court in Michigan against its former chairman for "breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contract and an accounting for profits." The 34-page suit seeks a declaration that Mr. lacocca is not entitled to exercise options to purchase Chrysler stock. It also asks for unspecified compensatory and exemplary damages, including the return of compensation that Chrysler gave to Mr. lacocca, even when he was chairman. The suit alleges Mr. lacocca shared company secrets with investor Kirk Kerkorian, Chrysler's second-largest shareholder behind FMR Corp., while receiving a $500,000 per year consulting fee. Mr. lacocca sued Chrysler in November after the automaker's board refused to allow him to exercise stock options valued at about $42 million, claiming he violated company policy that prohibits employees from doing harm to the company.