Michael Lagace worked for Doka USA until May 2022, when he announced his intention to leave the company and join its rival, Concrete Support Systems (CSS), headquartered in Bonita Springs, Florida.
His decision to jump ship and start working immediately for a direct rival broke the non-compete, non-solicitation and confidentiality clauses in his employment contract, alleges Doka USA.
Doka USA claims that Lagace copied confidential information, including customer lists, contract information and details of previous and current prices from the company’s Dropbox files onto USB drives before he left the company.
When Doka raised its concerns with Lagace, he claimed to have no memory of using USB sticks on his old work computer. He said he took only personal information with him when he left.
Court papers filed by Doka USA state: “Lagace's claims about Dropbox use are contradicted by the fact that on 19th May 2022, he accessed Doka USA Dropbox files that were unrelated to the work he was purportedly conducting on behalf of Doka USA at that time; rather, those files contained confidential, proprietary trade secret information that he was not authorised to access for purposes other than performance of his job duties."
Doka USA also alleges that Lagace started contacting old clients and potential customers of Doka’s almost as soon as he left the company and that he even told Doka USA’s CEO that he was pursuing an important Doka customer on behalf of CSS.
Doka USA is suing Lagace for breach of contract, theft and unfair competition. It is seeking damages for losses under the Defend Trade Secrets Act and the return of all Doka USA information allegedly held by Lagace and CSS.
Doka is also seeking to have Lagace barred from working for CSS for a period of eleven months, which was also a requirement under the terms of his employment contract.
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