Court Bars Ousted Market Basket Executives from Stores Amid Family Feud

In a new development in the long-running family drama at the Market Basket grocery chain, a Massachusetts judge has issued a restraining order to bar two fired executives from the company's stores and property. The court found that the former director of operations, Joseph Schmidt, and the former store and grocery director, Tom Gordon, were not believable and that their conduct was harmful to Market Basket.

The company's board accused the two executives, who were close allies of suspended CEO Arthur T. Demoulas, of engaging in a "campaign of intimidation and defiance" in an attempt to pressure management to reinstate Demoulas. Market Basket claimed the executives were accessing stores and offices without authorization to "intimidate our associates and disrupt company operations."

However, the fired executives have denied these allegations, stating that they were simply checking on their former colleagues and providing reassurance that "things will be OK." They argued there was no "campaign of fear" and that they were welcomed by their former co-workers.

Despite the executives' claims, the judge sided with Market Basket, ruling that Schmidt and Gordon had been given clear instructions to stay away from the company's property, which they had repeatedly violated. The court order puts a halt to their "unlawful activity" and bars them from the chain's 90 stores and offices.