Katherine Delehaye Paine taken to court by Delehaye Medialink.

It's tough when the company you founded, developed into a world-class operation, and sold--your own baby--turns around and sues you.

But that's what's happened to Katie Paine, who has halted publication of The Measurement Standard (NL/NL 5/17/02) under a restraining order.

Delehaye Medialink, of which Paine used to be president, charged the PR measurement expert with violating a non-compete contract by publishing her newsletter and web site on marketing measurement.

Delehaye Medialink CEO Mark Weiner said they took legal action "after many months of discussion" and only after it "became apparent" that Paine had taken "certain actions that we believe are in breach of her employment agreement and only after we could not resolve our issues."

Paine said the suite is a "fundamental difference of opinion." She told NL/NL, "My position all along is that my contract specifically permitted journalistic activities, and I was providing an objective independent publication about measurement for the communications industry in an attempt to spread the measurement gospel to a wider audience--which is why we published in Spanish and distributed around the world. (In fact, we are read in nearly two dozen countries!) And last I checked "publishing" is not one of the services on Medialink's web site."

The restraining order joins Paine, K.D. Paine and Partners LLC, and any of its employees or agents "from using confidential information of Medialink, and from hiring any employees and representatives of Medialink."

A hearing on the matter in U.S. District Court, Southern District, New York, was scheduled for June 28--the same day this issue went to press.