A Los Angeles Superior Court judge presiding over a divorce trial of a Capital Group executive Timothy Armour and wife Nina Ritter has ruled that information about the firm's compensation and stock awards can be kept under wraps, reports the Los Angeles Times.

The challenge came from an attorney hired by the Los Angeles Times itself. In response, Judge John Sandoz ruled that the firm's "proprietary information would cause some serious problems if revealed in open court," according to the Times.

The Capital Group's chief financial officer, Philip De Toledo, wrote in a filing that it could be "very harmful to [Capital's] corporate culture and the morale of its employees for [the firm's] private compensation process and information to be exposed."

"Competitors could attempt to use information about [Capital's] compensation strategies and awards to strengthen their own competitive positions and to solicit [the firm's] employees to work for them," wrote De Toledo, according to the Times.

Armour filed for divorce from his wife in 2003.

Another company-related issue in the case is the struggle over Armour's 50,000 Capital shares, which his wife is claiming half of. The company's bylaws do not allow non-employees to hold shares of the privately held company.  

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