Home and away: Seven and Ten corporate drama plays out in court

When a billionaire network chairman like Kerry Stokes offers an ambitious television executive a ''CEO role'', the usual response is to accept.

Not so for James Warburton, Seven's boss of sales and No. 3 executive. After four days thinking about it and two talks with the current occupant of the job, David Leckie, he quit last week and left for Network Ten instead.

Now Seven is going to court to delay his jump, claiming Ten cannot have him for at least 18 months because he is prohibited by contract from giving notice until his contract is up, and even once it is, from working for a competitor for a year.

Mr Warburton's appointment was the apparent reason for James Packer's departure from the Ten board; Mr Stokes is his partner in the pay TV investor Consolidated Media Holdings.

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