As part of its comprehensive employee benefit package, IBM Corp in the US thoughtfully retains Personal Performance Consultants Inc to offer counselling to anyone that is troubled in mind – it was originally for people with drink or drug problems but now covers pretty much everything – so now the company is being sued over the counselling that was given to an employee and her son in the wake of a divorce suit where the wife works for IBM in Edison, New Jersey: Mark Babinski, who reportedly admits that his relationship with his son is now fine, complains that the counselling given by IBM’s agent in 1988 after the Family Court ordered short-term psychotherapy to help the child get over the divorce amounted to an attempt to brainwash the child against him; with what sounds like every justification, IBM called the allegations ludicrous and sad, and asked the court to dismiss the case, but few US judges – lawyers themselves once – seem to like taking the bread out of lawyers’ mouths however frivolous the case, so IBM and Personal Performance must go away and prepare for a full hearing October 15.
