LOWELL, Mass. — A Middlesex County Superior Court judge on Thursday morning approved a temporary restraining order filed by Market Basket against two fired executives who are accused of ignoring stay-away orders and pressuring store workers into a labor stoppage.
Market Basket alleges that Joseph Schmidt, the former Director of Operations, and Tom Gordon, a former Store Director, trespassed at various store locations 26 times over six days.
The company claims the trespassing was intended to intimidate employees and disrupt store operations, potentially leading to a work slowdown, employee walkout, and customer boycott.
Thursday’s court ruling bans Schmidt and Gordon from setting foot on all Market Basket property, including stores and offices. The former executives were recently caught on surveillance camera walking into the grocery chain’s headquarters without permission.
In issuing the ruling, Judge William Barrett told the court the duo knew they weren’t supposed to be on the property after having received four letters from the company ordering them to stay away.
According to court documents, both Schmidt and Gordon were fired last month following accusations of insubordination. Before their termination, they were explicitly instructed not to enter any Market Basket stores and have not been granted permission to do so since.
In a statement, Market Basket Board Director Steve Collins praised the judge for approving the restraining order.
"We’re pleased that the court today issued an injunction against terminated employees Joe Schmidt and Tom Gordon. The effect of the court’s injunction is to put a stop to these individuals’ ongoing unlawful behavior and order them to stay away from Market Basket’s stores and offices," Collins wrote. “In the past few days alone, Schmidt and Gordon had gone to at least 23 different stores without authorization, and Schmidt had used a side entrance to gain access to Market Basket’s corporate headquarters, where he spent time going through the offices of a number of associates. The court found that Schmidt and Gordon were not believable and that their conduct was harmful to Market Basket.”
Collins added, “Market Basket was concerned that Mr. Demoulas’s ‘lieutenants’ were accessing the Market Basket stores and offices to intimidate our associates and disrupt company operations. They continued this conduct despite numerous warnings and requests that they stop, which the Court determined were clear and unequivocal directions. This order puts a halt to that unlawful activity.”
Schmidt and Gordon called their firings a “pre-planned coup” spearheaded by the Demoulas sisters, who are majority shareholders in Market Basket.
“I believe they are doing this at the behest of the three sisters, Francis, Glorianne, and Caren, of the Demoulas family. Those are Arthur T. Demoulas’ sisters,” Schmidt said at a press conference following his termination. “They have hired the Board of Directors. They want their brother out of the company.”
The Tewksbury-based grocery chain’s board placed Demoulas on paid administrative leave on May 28 over allegations that he had been considering leading a work stoppage.
In response to Thursday’s development, a spokesperson for Demoulas said in a statement that he was “surprised by this ruling.”
“Tom Gordon and Joe Schmidt have dedicated their entire professional careers to Market Basket and have been key to its success and building its culture. They have fostered the community of associates that is the Market Basket family. Since May 28, their integrity has been attacked with a host of false accusations, but they have persevered with dignity and integrity,” the statement read. “Intent matters: once they were fired, they believed they were able to visit the stores and did so not to threaten and intimidate, but to check on people and provide reassurance that things would be OK. We will respect this ruling, but are saddened that it is built on misconceptions about their intent.”
The investigation into Demoulas “is nearly complete,” according to an update issued on behalf of the board in late July by law firm Quinn Emanuel, which has been reviewing the allegations of a planned disruption of Market Basket operations.
Superior Court Judge William Barrett granting a temporary restraining order against former Market Basket execs Schmidt & Gordon. Judge Barrett says the 2 knew they weren’t supposed to be on the property after receiving four letters from the company ordering them to stay away.
— Alyssa Azzara (@alyssaazzaraTV) August 14, 2025
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