LexisNexis Sues Ex-Executive
LexisNexis is relying on a forensics examination of a former executive’s computer in a lawsuit alleging he violated a noncompete agreement.
The information services company says it learned through filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission that Paul Colangelo, formerly vice president of sales for its Information Analytics Group, went to work for a competing company, the Daily Business Review reports. The suit is pending in federal court in West Palm Beach, Fla.
Colangelo’s new company, LocatePLUS Holdings Corp., offers online investigative tools for businesses and law enforcement agencies that are similar to the products he oversaw at LexisNexis, the suit says.
LexisNexis alleges its examination of Colangelo’s computer found he had downloaded confidential information to a CD and attached an external hard drive to his work computer.
More employers are using technology to learn whether exiting employees have taken confidential information, Miami labor and employment attorney Robert Turk told the Review.
“It used to be that someone would walk out the door with a briefcase of papers,” he said. “Now, with computer disks and sticks and iPods that you can download things to, if an employer has a question [about confidential documents] it is appropriate to look at the electronic activities going on.”
