Tyson Foods filed an injunction on Wednesday, June 8th, in Washington County Circuit Court in Fayetteville, AR. The intent of the filing was to prevent Brian Baker, previously V.P. of Poultry Optimization, from providing his new employer, Foster Farms, with proprietary information. Foster Farms has been named as a co-defendant.
Tyson claims that Baker violated the Arkansas Trade Secrets Act and also violated a known-compete agreement entered into in May 2019 that imposes a one-year hiatus after leaving Tyson Foods to a competitor.
In commenting on the action, Tyson Foods issued a statement stating, “We are obligated to enforce non-compete contracts to protect our business and ensure fair competition.” It is evident that Brian Baker had access to confidential company information and as a senior executive, possessed knowledge of the business in any position with a competitor.
Tyson Foods has a policy of enforcing non-compete agreements as evidenced by previous litigation.