Veolia Water Technologies seeks to prohibit former employee from soliciting clients

A Pennsylvania company has sued a Jefferson Parish resident, alleging breach of contract.

Veolia Water Technologies Inc. filed a lawsuit April 21 in U.S. District of the Eastern District of Louisiana against Matthew Spence, seeking injunctive relief.

According to the suit, on Jan. 19, Spence, the plaintiff’s former employee, returned a telephone and computer to the company, showing little or no evidence of data that should have been contained in the equipment. Digital service reports, paper records, proposals, quotes, contracts, invoices, and calendars were all missing and Veolia assumes Spence erased the records, the suit states.

The suit says Spence inadvertently sent an email to a "Mr. Stephens" at Veolia on March 11,regarding solicitation of a client. Stephens was employed elsewhere by that time and did not receive the message, the suit says. Upon discovering that Stephens had not returned his equipment either, Veolia issued him a warning, which he ignored, the suit says.

Veolia says it has evidence of both men’s actions and that it lost 13 clients representing more than $75,000 in revenue.

Veolia Water Technologies seeks an injunction prohibiting Spence from soliciting its clients or any of its active prospective clients for a period of 20 months following separation from his employment, damages in excess of $75,000, attorney fees, expenses and costs.

It is represented by attorneys Ellis Murov, Duris Holmes and Andrew Baer of Deutsch, Kerrigan & Stiles in New Orleans.

U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of Louisiana case number: 2:15-cv-01280-SM-JCW.