Austin, Minnesota-based Hormel Foods Corp. is suing Sheboygan County-based sausage maker Johnsonville along with two of the company’s employees, who are also former Hormel employees, for allegedly misappropriating trade secrets.
Hormel filed the lawsuit, which names Johnsonville employees Brett Sims and Jeremy Rummel as defendants, in U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota on June 18.
“Johnsonville, through Sims, Rummel and perhaps others, appears to have undertaken a coordinated effort to interfere with Hormel’s employment relationships and obtain Hormel’s confidential, proprietary and trade secret information,” according to the complaint.
Johnsonville hired Sims as director of operations in June 2023. In that role he oversaw certain sausage production for the company.
Not long after Sims was hired, he allegedly began “soliciting Hormel employees.”
This led to Johnsonville hiring Rummel, and several other former Hormel employees, to key positions including plant manager, product manufacturing manager, and senior finance manager.
After Rummel accepted a position at Johnsonville, but before he left Hormel, Rummel allegedly began forwarding Hormel’s “highly sensitive confidential, proprietary and trade secret information” to his personal email account.
That information included product formulas, processing procedures and more, according to the lawsuit.
Hormel claims company officials became aware of Rummel’s “egregious behavior” and interviewed him before he left to work for Johnsonville.
Initially, the complaint says Rummel denied sending confidential information to his personal email account.
After being presented with evidence, including emails and cell phone records, he allegedly admitted some of the records contained confidential information.
During the same interview, Rummel allegedly admitted that Sims had been soliciting him for employment from Hormel.
Hormel has requested a jury trial for the case, along with actual and contractual damages.
The company is also requesting that Johnsonville repay any money it has “unjustly” made through use of any confidential information taken from Hormel.
Representatives with Johnsonville did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday evening.
