Plateau Excavation, Inc. v. Strack, Inc. et al., Civil Action No. 1:21-CV-3345-JPB (N.D. Ga. May 4, 2022)

Plaintiff Plateau Excavation, Inc. filed suit against Defendants Strack, Inc., Jonathan Strack, and Jason Hoffman on August 17, 2021 in the Northern District of Georgia (Atlanta Division). The Complaint alleged misappropriation of Plaintiff’s trade secrets under the Defend Trade Secrets Act and the Georgia Trade Secrets Act, aiding and abetting breach of fiduciary duty and duty of loyalty, breach of fiduciary duty and duty of loyalty, conversion, punitive damages, and attorney’s fees. Specifically, the Complaint alleges that, inter alia, Plaintiff and Defendant are competitor contractors and that Defendants Strack, Inc. and Jonathan Strack conspired with former Plateau Excavation employee, Defendant Jason Hoffman, to misappropriate confidential and trade secret information about Plaintiff’s bids for various projects, including projects on which Defendant Strack, Inc. had submitted a competing bid. The Complaint alleges that Hoffman accessed the highly sensitive bid information on Plaintiff’s computer, downloaded it to his personal Dropbox account, and shared the bid information as well as thousands of other project files with Defendants Strack, Inc. and Jonathan Strack. Plaintiff simultaneously moved for a preliminary injunction. On April 28, 2022, Plaintiff and Defendants jointly moved for entry of a consent order and preliminary injunction providing that Defendants would be enjoined from sharing, using, or viewing confidential and trade secret information Defendant Jason Hoffman misappropriated from Plaintiff. Defendants also agreed to provide an accounting of Plaintiff’s files in their possession to permit a forensic examination of any devices containing Plaintiff’s files. On May 3, 2022, Judge Boulee granted the parties’ Joint Motion for Entry of Consent Order and Preliminary Injunction.