Irving adds Davie shipyards to lawsuit over alleged leaked docs

HALIFAX—Irving Shipbuilding Inc. has added a rival firm to a lawsuit that alleges a former employee leaked confidential information to Davie shipyards.

According to Irving, it has filed an amendment motion to a statement of claim filed with the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia to add Chantier Davie Canada Inc. as a co-defendant in a lawsuit against former employee Jared Newcombe.

Irving claims Newcombe gave confidential business information to Davie, and that Davie forwarded the leaked material to other employees within the company.

None of the allegations have been tested in a court of law.

Davie has previously denied receiving Irving’s confidential or proprietary information, according to Irving, and its CEO denied any wrongdoing in an Aug. 15, 2013, letter, stating “”we share your disapproval of employees who breach their obligations to their former employers, especially by passing such employer’s confidential information to their current employer.”

Irving said Newcombe left the company in April 2013 to work at Davie shipyards.

Irving’s amended statement of claim alleges Newcombe gave “some or all of the misappropriated” Irving business information to Davie employees and that, at the time of writing the Aug. 15, 2013, letter to Irving, the company’s chief executive “had already received and forwarded the information to Davie’s chief financial officer.”