DALLAS, Nov. 25, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- It is with a heavy heart that Gerald ("Jerry") Rubin, the founder and former CEO of Helen of Troy Limited (NASDAQ: HELE) ("Helen of Troy" or the "Company"), yesterday filed suit against the Company and certain members of its Board of Directors ("Director Defendants") to right the alleged wrongs committed by a troupe of highly paid outside consultants and the Director Defendants, who were too afraid, and too self-interested, to stop them.

In his lawsuit, Mr. Rubin alleges that Defendants misrepresented and breached the terms of his Employment Agreements with Helen of Troy. In particular, Mr. Rubin contends that the Director Defendants did so in an effort to save their own jobs when under fire by outside proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services. Specifically, Mr. Rubin alleges that, contrary to the best interests of the Company and its shareholders - and with respect to the Director Defendants, to preserve their own interests - the Defendants engaged in a calculated campaign of unfair dealings that culminated in the groundless firing of Mr. Rubin earlier this year.

Mr. Rubin has dedicated his entire working life to the best interests of Helen of Troy, and the Company's results speak for themselves. While Mr. Rubin is loath to bring claims against the Company he nurtured and loves, the Director Defendants' self-serving and self-dealing conduct allegedly has denied Mr. Rubin the compensation he was repeatedly promised and, he believes, has caused and is causing substantial damage to Helen of Troy's shareholders, notwithstanding the Company's buyback of about $300,000,000 of its stock to increase the stock price.

This suit is not an accusation against the Company itself or its hard-working employees in which Mr. Rubin takes great pride. It is about treating people fairly and honoring one's word - the very principles that Mr. Rubin followed over the course of 45 years in building Helen of Troy from a single retail storefront to the billion-dollar corporation it is today. The Director Defendants lost sight of these important values and must now be reminded. The Company's reputation deserves as much.

For further information please call:

Michael P. Lynn,
Lynn Tillotson Pinker Cox LLP
214.981.3800
mlynn@lynnllp.com

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SOURCE Lynn Tillotson Pinker Cox LLP