What can happen in a 16-day span? Well, according to Motorola (NYSE: MOT), a former employee -- whom the the firm "appreciated" -- can become a former employee who may have failed "to substantially perform duties," engaged in dishonesty, "gross misconduct," and breached "one or more restrictive covenants." (These are definitions for cause, not actual reasons cited by MOT for Liska's departure.) According to this Wall Street Journal article, former MOT chief financial officer Paul Liska filed a wrongful termination suit against the cellphone producer on February 20.

Yesterday, Liska expressed surprise in realizing that his termination was assigned cause. When MOT reported earnings (actually, a lack thereof) early in February, it stated that Liska was being replaced because the firm was delaying the spinoff of its cellphone unit. The firm's co-CEO actually praised Liska, noting "He did a lot of good work here." However, a recent SEC filing brought to light the fact that MOT asked Liska to repay a $400,000 cash signing bonus on February 19, noting that he was "involuntarily terminated for cause."