A JUDGE is ordering Kroger’s ex-CEO to spill the beans on why he had recently resigned from the company’s top post.

Rodney McMullen suddenly resigned in March after the company launched an investigation into “certain personal conduct.”

It then went on to say that said conduct was “inconsistent” with its ethics.

“McMullen’s generalized allegation of embarrassment does not satisfy his burden,” the judge said, according to court filings obtained by Cincinnati.com. “It is plausible that this evidence could reflect on Mr. McMullen’s credibility or Kroger’s corporate culture.”

According to a Kroger SEC filing, it was not related to the company’s “financial performance, operations or reporting, and it did not involve any Kroger associates.”

McMullen had served in the job for over a decade.

Although McMullen now has to tell the court the reasoning, a judge will decide if the testimony should be unveiled to the public.

The revelation comes after singer Jewel had filed a lawsuit against the grocer over the company’s event called the “Kroger Wellness Festival.”

She said that after being asked to support and promote it for an ownership piece, the festival was instead left with at least a $5 million profit loss, according to the outlet.

The written testimony by the ex-CEO is supposed to be received by Friday, Aug. 8.

Albertsons, another grocery chain, has also called for McMullen to explain his sudden departure from the company.

The two businesses attempted to and failed at merging, leading to an ongoing legal battle between the pair.

“McMullen’s conduct and business ethics are central to this litigation,” Albertsons wrote in the filing, according to GroceryDive.

“Yet Kroger refuses to produce any documents regarding significant lapses of ‘business ethics’ so serious they cost McMullen his job weeks after the Merger was blocked.”

The company has said that the information could be relevant to the case, and should “not be required to rely merely on Kroger’s say-so that McMullen’s Conduct was unrelated to the Merger.” 

It also claimed that McMullen “micro-managed the merger from beginning to end, and his business ethics (or lack thereof) lie at the heart of this case.”

Kroger’s refund policy

Kroger shoppers can return items with or without a receipt.

All Kroger Co. Family of Stores can accept returns of items purchased at any location within 30 days of purchase.

Returns with receipts:

• Customers can use digital or paper receipts to get a refund
• The refund will be returned in the same payment method the purchase was made. Either going back on a card or handed back in cash

Returns without receipts:

• Customers wanting to return more than $10 will receive a store merchandise gift card for the value
• Customers who spent less than $10 will receive cash

According to the outlet, the next hearing will be held on the Albertsons case on Sept. 4.

Kroger told Bloomberg in July that it “continues to focus on delivering outstanding value to its customers and communities, Albertsons’ desperation is once again on full display in this latest attempt to distract from its own misconduct during the regulatory process.”

Lawyers for Albertsons, however, had a different perspective in their response to Bloomberg.

The competing grocery chain shot back, saying:

“Kroger has not explained why that conduct was so egregious that the Kroger board determined McMullen was unfit to serve as CEO and forced him out within 10 days of its discovery.”