Hooters restaurant chain is suing the owner of the Twin Peaks chain for stealing trade secrets.
Hooters’ lawsuit in federal court in Atlanta alleges a former Hooters executive stole “sensitive and highly confidential business information” including marketing plans and sales data both before and after he left Hooters for a competitor, La Cima Restaurants, owner of the Twin Peaks franchise.
La Cima was recently formed by the former chief executive of Hooters, so the issue of trade secrets theft is a sore point between the two companies. The executive was able to access the information at issue in the lawsuit even after he left because Hooters forgot to block his Internet access.
Both chains are “breastaurants,” but that theme is not at issue in the lawsuit.
Source: Associated Press, “Hooters sues ex-exec, accuses him of swiping trade secrets,” September 30, 2011, via lowering the bar
Maureen Martin, a former legal fellow at The Heartland Institute, passed away on February 5, 2013.
