Oil company Maxum Petroleum is bringing a trade secrets suit in Connecticut federal court against competitor Chemoil Corp. over the “surreptitious” hiring of a sales executive.
Maxum alleges that Stephen Hiatt, the vice president for sales for its energy division, quit on Aug. 31 and has quietly recruited away several other employees to join him at Chemoil. The company sued Monday under the federal Defend Trade Secrets Act and the Connecticut Uniform Trade Secrets Act, saying it had only learned of Hiatt’s hiring last week due to an errant email.
