Vernon, California, U.S.A.-based Red Chamber seafood, one of North America’s largest seafood companies, attempted to buy National Fish and Seafood last year, court documents filed on 28 September revealed.
Red Chamber entered into a confidentiality agreement with Gloucester, Massachusetts-based National Fish and Seafood (NFS) in October 2017 “in relation to Red Chamber’s interest in evaluating NFS’ business," according to documents filed in the ongoing litigation between NFS and Red Chamber subsidiary Tampa Bay Fisheries regarding allegations former NFS employee Kathleen Scanlon attempted to steal trade secrets after she was hired by the latter company.
According to the new filing, Tampa Bay’s recruitment of Scanlon represented a breach of the non-disclosure agreement signed between Red Chamber and NFS.
“Pursuant to the [a]greement, Red Chamber had an obligation to ensure its subsidiaries and affiliates, including Tampa Bay, did not solicit NFS’ employees without prior notice to NFS,” the filing said. “Neither Red Chamber nor Tampa Bay provided notice to NFS that Tampa Bay intended to and did, in fact, solicit and hire Scanlon. Red Chamber breached its [a]greement with NFS through Tampa Bay’s solicitation and hiring of Scanlon.”
NFS has added Red Chamber as a defendant in the lawsuit, which seeks civil seizure of the property that contains NFS’ trade secrets, a monetary award of three times NFS’s actual damages, and a court order limiting Tampa Bay from expanding its stuffed clam business – the focal point of the allegedly stolen trade secrets.
In an email to SeafoodSource, NFS President Todd Provost confirmed Red Chambers’ prior interest in acquiring his company.
“Red Chamber was one of many parties who had expressed interest in potentially acquiring NFS, but we are no longer in communication with them about this possibility, and we are in active discussions with other parties,” he said.
NFS has been seeking a buyer since at least October 2017, when it was ordered to do so by the judge overseeing the bankruptcy filing of its parent company, Pacific Andes International.
In a response filed in Massachusetts District Court in September, Tampa Bay Fisheries downplayed the claims made by NFS and asked the court to deny NFS’ request for a preliminary injunction.
However, on 14 September, the judge overseeing the case ruled that Scanlon could not begin employment at Tampa Bay and forbid the company from viewing or using in any way any information transferred from Scanlon.
In a 4 October order, the judge overseeing the case demanded an answer from Tampa Bay to the allegations made by NFS and “will determine whether a hearing is necessary after further review of the papers.”
