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While Denying Any Wrongdoing, Rubicon Terminates Employee at Center of Waste Connections Lawsuit
Rubicon says it took appropriate steps to ensure no confidential information would be used, but is terminating the employee out of an "abundance of caution."
2 Min Read
Citing an “abundance of caution,” Rubicon Global has terminated the employee at the center of an ongoing lawsuit against the tech company filed by Waste Connections.
According to the company’s official statement:
Allegations were recently brought against Rubicon Global and a newly hired employee by his former employer, Waste Connections. The allegations claimed that the employee improperly handled Waste Connections’ intellectual property and confidential information upon joining our company.
Rubicon strongly denies that it had knowledge of these actions. Although the hiring of the employee was entirely appropriate and Rubicon took appropriate steps to ensure no confidential or proprietary information of Waste Connections would be used, out of an abundance of caution Rubicon has decided to terminate the employee.
Data security is extremely important to us – and for our customers, for our hauler partners, and for our employees. We protect their data and respect the confidential information and intellectual property of our competitors and other companies in our industry. We take any potential risks to such security or the intellectual property of third parties very seriously, and we will continue defending Rubicon's actions in this matter.
On June 19, a superior court judge in Georgia has issued a temporary restraining order against Rubicon Global.
The suit charged Jonathan Dewitt, a former district sales manager for Progressive Waste Solutions and Waste Connections, with illegally downloading more than 1,000 confidential documents that detailed the Toronto-based hauler’s specialized training program and included detailed customer information and sales leads in several markets. It also charged Dewitt and Rubicon with violating the Georgia Trade Secrets Act and Rubicon with engaging in tortious interference with an existing contract.
In its first statement when the lawsuit was filed, Rubicon had said Dewitt wanted “to be a part of the evolution of our industry - a process built on a combination of industry expertise, new technology and data analytics."
The latest move distances the firm from Dewitt and denies it played any role in what he may or may not have done.
The temporary restraining order, passed down by Fulton County Superior Court Judge Eric Dunaway, restrained Dewitt from using or disclosing any of Waste Connections’ “confidential information or trade secrets, including but not limited to sales strategies and training materials, customer lists and identities, customer pricing and discounts, customer quotes, customer service requirements, expiration dates of customer service agreements, contents of proposals to customers, customer prospects, Plaintiff’s internal costs, profit margins, pricing and discount strategies, and other highly confidential customer and financial information.”
The temporary restraining order remains the status quo until a full hearing can be held in the case.
Waste Connections continues to proceed with the suit and its discovery process.
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