SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — IBM Corp. won’t be able to block its former mergers and acquisitions chief from working at rival Dell Inc. while a lawsuit against the executive works its way through the courts.

A federal judge on Friday rejected IBM’s request for a preliminary injunction against the executive, David Johnson.

IBM is suing Johnson, claiming he violated a noncompete agreement by taking the job at Dell. IBM argues that Johnson has trade secrets of IBM’s that he could use to help Dell.

Johnson spent 27 years at IBM before joining Dell earlier this year. He has disputed IBM’s characterizations about the amount of trade secrets he possesses.

The case against Johnson continues, though. The judge, Stephen Robinson of U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, wrote that IBM has raised serious enough questions about the circumstances of Johnson’s employment with Dell for the case to go forward.

IBM also added more allegations against Johnson this week, saying he misused company resources to start a venture capital firm.

Dell declined to comment Friday. IBM said it plans to appeal the latest ruling, but wouldn’t comment further.

IBM recently sued another former executive, Mark Papermaster, who left to lead Apple Inc.’s iPod and iPhone hardware engineering teams. They settled earlier this year, and Papermaster was cleared to go work for Apple in April, six months after he left IBM.

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