Table wear manufacturer Lenox Corp. has sued its former general counsel in Newark federal court, claiming that he sought a job with a competitor while representing Lenox in negotiations to acquire that company.

William Robedee used financial data that the competitor, Nambe LLC, provided during acquisition talks to convince that company to take itself off the market and hire him to improve the value of the business, according to the suit. Robedee was later joined at Nambe by Louis Scala, a Lenox senior vice president, and Susan Ryan-Mahoney, a key saleswoman with Lenox, the suit claims.

Lenox, of Bristol, Pennsylvania, filed the suit March 5 against Robedee, of Robbinsville, New Jersey, who was its chief legal officer from 2010 to 2014. Scala, of Bay Head, New Jersey, is also a defendant.