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Lawsuit Accuses Star City Manufacturer of ‘Double-Dealing’Lock Icon

1 min read

A Wisconsin company is accusing a former owner of a Star City manufacturer of violating a noncompete agreement and is seeking at least $1.4 million in damages.

Triosim Corp. also wants a temporary restraining order placed against A. Dale Drake of Richmond Hill, Georgia, and accused him of meddling in its business.

Back in 2015, Dale Drake, Jerry Drake of White Hall and Tim Drake, whose address wasn’t listed in the purchase documents, sold their Southern Specialty Services Inc. for $7 million to JLM Advanced Technical Services Inc., a subsidiary of Triosim.

Southern Specialty makes wire mesh cloth and washer drums for use in the paper industry, according to the lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Little Rock.

As part of the sale, Triosim agreed to pay Dale Drake $180,000 and fringe benefits annually for two years, and then keep him on after that. Of course, the terms of the employment included a noncompete agreement, the lawsuit said.

But unbeknownst to Triosim, Drake “established a business relationship with West Coast Pre Fab Ltd. of Canada, according to the lawsuit. In addition, Triosim accused Drake in the suit of “double-dealing” for taking customers and sharing trade secrets and other information with West Coast. Triosim said Drake has caused at least $1.46 million in damages that include breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty and fraud.

Drake hadn’t filed an answer as of Thursday and he couldn’t be reached for comment.

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