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Fight Over Ethanol Secrets Might Be Settled Out Of Court
By Mr Ethanol | May 18, 2007
Argus Leader:
A former ethanol plant manager e-mailed top-secret documents to his girlfriend’s e-mail account as he prepared to take another job in the industry, according to newly filed court documents in a federal lawsuit.
The allegations are at the center of a battle over trade secrets that underscores the highly competitive nature of the ethanol business.
Sioux Falls ethanol producer Poet alleges that Gary T. Hanson, who served as operations manager for an associated plant in Jewell, Iowa, stole sensitive documents from the company after resigning in December and accepting a job as plant manager for a new Colorado ethanol producer.
The same lawsuit involves maintenance worker Robert A. Akers, who also left the company for Colorado after Hanson offered him a job at an ethanol plant in Sterling, Colo. Poet claims the men violated noncompete and nondisclosure pacts.
Poet, one of the nation’s top ethanol producers, is seeking injunctions to keep Hanson and Akers from working in the industry or sharing confidential documents.
“Plaintiffs believe Defendants have disclosed, are a real threat to disclose, or will inevitably disclose their confidential information and trade secrets,” according to court documents, and “the value of their technology will be forever lost.”
Tim Shattuck, a Sioux Falls lawyer representing Poet, said the case should be settled within a couple of weeks. Carry on reading…
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