NEW ORLEANS – A Louisiana detergent manufacturer is suing a former employee, alleging he shared the plaintiff's propriety formulas with a competitor.
Cajun Kleen Products Inc. filed a lawsuit Jan. 14 in U.S. District Court for the Monroe Division of the Western District of Louisiana against Paul Rider of Ouachita Parish, Professional Car Products LLC and Rodney Potts Jr., both of Jackson Parish, alleging theft of intellectual property.
According to the complaint, Cajun Kleen acquired Anchor Chemical in February 2012, hiring Rider, a former Anchor employee. The purchase allowed Cajun Kleen to acquire secret formulas for Cajun Brown and Cajun Blue cleaning products, the suit says.
After walking off the job without warning in August 2015, the suit alleges Rider began working for rival firm Professional Card Products. There, the lawsuit states, he developed knock-off products Geaux Blue and Geaux Brown, telling customers they were the same as products sold by Cajun Kleen.
Cajun Kleen seeks a restraining order halting the sale of the rival products, the destruction its packaging, and monetary damages and legal fees. It is represented by attorney J. Todd Benson of Ayres, Shelton, Williams, Benson & Paine LLC in Shreveport.
U.S. District Court for the Monroe Division of the Western District of Louisiana Case number 3:16-cv-00062