Motorola Inc.’s Chief Financial Officer, Paul Liska filed a wrongful termination suit against Motorola on Feb. 20 in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Ill. Apparently, the existence of the case couldn’t be independently verified.

On Wednesday, Mr. Liska released a statement saying he was surprised to learn that he had been fired for cause. Motorola announced it was replacing Mr. Liska during its earnings call on Feb. 3, after posting a $3.58 billion quarterly loss. Co-Chief Executive Greg Brown said “he (Liska) did a lot of good work here and helped us get a lot of the heavy lifting done around this separation and preparation for separation…and he was also very helpful in getting after…cost reduction initiatives.”

Liska is reported to have filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday night. Motorola said Mr. Liska was “involuntarily terminated for cause” on Feb. 19 and asked that he repay a $400,000 cash signing bonus. The “cause” has not been determined where it could be anything from “failure to substantially perform duties,” “engagement in any malfeasance, dishonesty or fraud,” “gross misconduct” or “breach of one or more restrictive covenants.” Mr Liska reportedly said Motorola’s decision was a clear “180-degree change” through his working relationship. What will this mean for the Company after Edward Fitzpatrick starts asinterim chief financial officer?

[via Wall Street Journal]