The man who claims he helped Apple Inc. co-founder Steve Jobs transform product launches into international media events can press forward with his breach of contract suit against the company, a judge tentatively ruled on Tuesday.

Wayne Goodrich, who was fired in 2011 shortly after Jobs died, claims in a lawsuit filed in Santa Clara County Superior Court that Jobs promised him a job for life.

On his LinkedIn page, Goodrich says he reported directly to Jobs for more than 20 years at Apple, Pixar and NeXT Computer. "During my 17-year tenure at Apple, the product launch was transformed into grand theater," Goodrich's page reads. "These 'Stevenotes' were anticipated worldwide, and from these events, Apple was able to garner billions of dollars of PR … While at Apple, I was integral to the launch of the first iMac, which basically saved the company."

Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Carol Overton indicated she would deny Apple's request for summary judgment in the case, which was filed in 2012 and alleges breach of contract and unfair business practices related to Goodrich's firing, among other things.

Goodrich, who worked for Apple beginning in 1998, produced many of the iPhone maker's vaunted product-release events and was reportedly close to Jobs. He claims that in 2005, Jobs personally promised that Goodrich would always have a job at Apple no matter what happened to his position, or to Jobs.

But Goodrich said he was fired in December of 2011, shortly after Jobs died, for "business reasons" unrelated to his job performance, according to his complaint. Goodrich is seeking punitive damages for lost wages and restricted stock units worth upward of $1 million.

Nathan Donato-Weinstein covers commercial real estate and transportation for the Silicon Valley Business Journal.