Online employment site HotJobs.com has filed suit against Digital City over the AOL property’s cancellation of an ad agreement after it made an exclusive deal with HotJobs.com competitor, Monster.com.
Information about the lawsuit came to light in SEC documents filed by TMP Worldwide (TMPW), Monster.com’s parent. According to the documents, HotJobs.com’s lawsuit was filed on Dec. 20, 1999 in Fairfax, Va.
HotJobs.com (HOTJ) wouldn’t comment on the litigation.
The suit asks that Digital City be required to meet the terms of the advertising agreement, which was originally set to end in November of 2000. HotJobs.com also asked the court to keep Digital City from entering into exclusive agreements with its competitors, according to the TMP Worldwide (TMPW) filing.
On December 30, HotJobs.com filed a motion for temporary and permanent injunction, which would keep Digital City from cancelling the agreement. That injunction will be heard on Jan. 31.
TMP has been asked by the court to provide documents relevant to the matter.
The trouble arose when America Online (AOL) and TMP Worldwide reached a content and marketing agreement on Dec. 1 that called for Monster.com to be the exclusive provider of career search services over seven AOL brands, including Digital City. As part of that deal, TMP agreed to pay $100 million over the length of the four-year contract.
Digital City, however, had already made a deal with HotJobs.com for the jobs site to buy ads and promote other related items across several AOL properties.
TMP Worldwide said in the filing it didn’t believe the lawsuit would have a negative effect on its ability to roll out its content on the AOL sites.