Advanced Bionics Corp

A year-old fight between rival medical device makers over a man who has been called a marketing guru has drawn courts in California and Minnesota into an extraordinary showdown over the enforceability of non-compete agreements. Although contracts restricting future employment by a competitor are gaining popularity across the country, California courts have consistently held they violate an 1872 state law and the public's interest in promoting the freedom to choose where to work.

A year-old fight between rival medical device makers over a man who has been called a marketing guru has drawn courts in California and Minnesota into an extraordinary showdown over the enforceability of non-compete agreements. Although contracts restricting future employment by a competitor are gaining popularity across the country, California courts have consistently held they violate an 1872 state law and the public's interest in promoting the freedom to choose where to work.

Robert Greenberg got tired of hearing from senior engineers that it wasn't possible to build his product idea: a bionic eye that gives sight to the blind. "A lot of the folks straight out of school didn't know any better, so I hired them instead," quipped Greenberg, chief executive of Second Sight Medical Products Inc., a Sylmar biotech company. "They didn't know how hard it was going to be, that it was impossible. And so they tried. " Greenberg can laugh now that he once thought developing the device would take a year and $1 million.

*Boston Scientific Corp. said it would recall ear-implant devices made by a Southern California company that it acquired in June. About 440 Clarion and HiResolution cochlear implants made by Advanced Bionics Corp. of Valencia may have contained moisture in the internal circuitry, which could cause them to fail. * Tommy Hilfiger U.S.A. Inc. said it received a federal grand jury subpoena seeking documents relating to commissions that were paid to a non-U.S. subsidiary since 1990.

Boston Scientific Corp. on Thursday said it had amended terms of its 2004 acquisition of a maker of implantable electronic medical devices, a deal that led the acquired firm's founder to sue over Boston Scientific's attempts to fire him. The agreement reduces the potential payout Boston Scientific faces in its acquisition of Advanced Bionics Corp.

Swiss hearing aid firm Sonova Holding said today it is buying cochlear implant maker Advanced Bionics Corp., based in Valencia, for $489 million in cash. Privately-held Advanced Bionics was founded in 1993. Its majority shareholder is the biotech investor Alfred Mann. The company, which has 660 employees and sales in over 30 countries, has an 18 percent share of the global market in cochlear implants. These electronic devices are surgically implanted inside the ear to stimulate the auditory nerves, allowing deaf people to hear sounds.

After a closed-door meeting between Los Angeles City Councilman Alex Padilla and biotech mogul Alfred Mann, the councilman said Friday he is prepared to support plans to use surplus city land in Sylmar to house a cancer drug research and manufacturing facility. Padilla said his support was contingent on Mann agreeing to address three issues, which Mann told The Times would be no problem.

Patty DeDominic PDQ Personnel Services Inc., Los Angeles 9:45 to 10:45 a.m. Sept. 25 Patty DeDominic launched PDQ Personnel Services Inc. in 1979. The company has become a leading temporary employment placement service used by the public and private sectors and not-for-profit organizations. DeDominic brought to PDQ 20 years' experience in staffing, recruiting and hiring. She has been recognized by Congress and labor and business groups for her achievements in business and human resources.

It took him more than a year of wrangling with city officials, but Alfred Mann, one of the wealthiest businessmen in the San Fernando Valley, finally got the green light Wednesday to buy a hunk of land in Sylmar for a new biomedical plant. Councilman Alex Padilla had blocked the project for months, insisting that Mann meet several conditions--including setting up an internship program for Mission College students--before the lawmaker agreed to support it.

Moving its aggressive acquisition campaign into the field of diabetes management, Medtronic Inc., the world's biggest medical device maker, agreed to buy Northridge-based MiniMed Inc. and an affiliated company for $3.7 billion, the companies said Wednesday. As part of the deal, MiniMed's founder, Alfred E. Mann, will step down as chairman and chief executive to devote attention to his other medical start-ups. If approved by shareholders and regulators, the $3.