Lyft sues former COO for confidentiality breach
The two largest ride sharing firms could be facing off in a court of law after Lyft filed a lawsuit against former COO Travis VanderZanden who defected to rival company Uber.
The action alleges Travis VanderZanden was in possession of confidential Lyft documents outlining its overseas expansion plans.
The lawsuit claims VanderZanden transferred ‘Lyft’s most sensitive documents’ containing financial information, customer data, personnel records and overseas growth forecasts to a personal Dropbox account before leaving the company.
VanderZanden left Lyft in August and was then appointed vice president of international growth at Uber last month.
Lyft says he has used the ‘proprietary data’ in his role at Uber.
"We are disappointed to have to take this step, but this unusual situation has left us no choice but to take the necessary legal action to protect our confidential information," a Lyft statement said.
"We are incredibly proud of the dedicated and people-powered culture that we’ve fostered to support drivers, passengers and the entire Lyft community and we will not tolerate this type of behavior."
The breach of contract complaint was filed in the in state court in San Francisco where both firms are based.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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