Judge bars men from using data

Case centers on after-market parts for foreign autos

By Sally Voth -- svoth@nvdaily.com

HARRISONBURG -- A federal judge has banned two Winchester men from using any proprietary information they may have taken from their former employer.

On Wednesday, U.S. District Court Judge Michael F. Urbanski issued the temporary restraining order against Joel Schurtz and Ronnie Jackson, of Winchester, and Michael Firetti, of Purcellville, according to online court records.

The three men are being sued by their former employer, STaSIS, which is based in Kearneysville, W.Va. The company develops and markets after-market performance packages for Audis and Volkswagens.

STaSIS bought Eurojet Development Inc.'s assets in June. Eurojet had been owned by Schurtz, who employed Jackson and Firetti, according to court filings.

The complaint says Schurtz, Jackson and Firetti violated the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act, and seeks $75,000.

They are accused of taking prototype parts, files and intellectual property, and of blocking access to STaSIS's website and Facebook page. They have denied the allegations in a filing, which also says if STaSIS wants back test parts it installed on Schurtz's and Firetti's vehicles, it should pay for their removal and repair to the vehicles.

According to a memorandum opinion Urbanski issued Wednesday, the men now work for a Canadian company, Unitronic-Chipped. It says STaSIS has claimed in its Jan. 19 motion for the restraining order that Unitronic-Chipped is a software company, which has recently said it plans to sell a performance car component "replicating" one of STaSIS's products.

"In short, STaSIS contends that the timing of defendants' departure, the misappropriation of STaSIS's confidential information, and the timing of the announcement of the Unitronic-Chipped Modular V-Banded Downpipe compels the conclusion that it was the product of commercial theft, rather than legitimate innovation and competition," the opinion says.

It says STaSIS CEO Paul Lambert testified at a Jan. 20 hearing that the allegedly stolen intellectual property would interfere with his company's planned business relationship with Volkswagen, which was at a "critical stage."

"It is impermissible for defendants to sell the assets of their company to STaSIS, go to work at STaSIS for a short period of time under confidentiality agreements, and then leave STaSIS to work for a new competitor, taking with them and using STaSIS's confidential business information to develop a product that appears to be virtually identical to that sold by STaSIS," Urbanksi's opinion states.

It sets a security bond of $50,000, and says a preliminary injunction hearing is scheduled in two weeks.