Two companies accuse a former employee of threatening to disclose their trade secrets.
Advantus Corp. and OT Lighting Buyer filed their federal complaint against former employee Michael Egan.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff companies allege Egan, in an attempt to extort money from Advantus, has threatened to reveal confidential information to the company's customers and interfere with customer relationships if he is not paid bonus money he claims is owed to him by OttLite Technologies Inc., a company from which Advantus purchased certain assets.
The plaintiffs are seeking preliminary and permanent injunctive relief to prevent Egan from disclosing their trade secrets and interfering with their business relationships.