Dead River Co. sues sibling managers over alleged trade secret violations
Dead River Co., the largest heating fuel supplier in northern New England, is suing two former managers — a brother and sister — who allegedly stole customer phone numbers and other confidential information to launch a competing supplier in Brunswick.
The lawsuit, filed Thursday in Portland federal court, claims Kenneth Boyington, of Topsham, and Narissa Goodwin, of Wiscasset, used the information to steer business to Coastline Energy LLC, which they founded last October while employed by Dead River.
Boyington and Goodwin continued to work for Dead River, according to the four-count complaint, until the company learned of their side venture by chance. On Jan. 22, Boyington was spotted driving a fuel oil delivery truck marked “Coastline Energy” at a Dead River storage plant in Brunswick.
The siblings had each notified Dead River a week earlier that they planned to quit their jobs. But the truck sighting resulted in “the first time management learned that Boyington and Goodwin intended to leave in order to compete with Dead River,” the complaint states.
The pair were fired three days later.
When Dead River then demanded that Boyington and Goodwin return their company-furnished cellphones, the two initially refused, according to the complaint. They eventually turned the phones over, after wiping them clean of contacts, call histories, text messages and other information.
According to the complaint, the phones provided access to trade secrets and other proprietary information that Boyington and Goodwin — while employed by Dead River — used to lure customers and employees to Coastline.
Boyington also undercharged Dead River customers for propane tanks, and later began selling fuel to those customers from Coastline trucks, the complaint says.
The relationship between the defendants and Dead River is a complex one.
In November, Boyington had been named general manager of Dead River’s Main Street Fuel business in Richmond. Goodwin had been promoted from office manager to general manager of another Dead River division, Crowley Energy, in Brunswick — the position Boyington had previously held.
Boyington and Goodwin are children of Richard and Emily Crowley, who sold Crowley Energy to Dead River in 2018. The Crowleys also agreed not to compete with Dead River in Maine and New Hampshire for six years.
Dead River says it has lost money because of the misappropriated information and that its continued use would cause the company "irreparable injury." The suit seeks unspecified damages, the return of the downloaded data, and an injunction preventing Boyington and Goodwin from using the information.
In a statement submitted to Mainebiz by Portland law firm Verrill, Dead River Co. said, "The action we are taking is to address what we perceive to be a serious breach of integrity. We remain focused on ensuring our customers’ safety and security and upholding our brand promise to always be there when our customers need us. The company trusts that the court will act fairly and promptly in this matter.”
James Smith, a Brunswick attorney for the defendants, did not immediately respond to an inquiry from Mainebiz about the case.
Dead River Co., founded in 1909, provides heating oil and propane to customers in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and western Massachusetts. The company is based in South Portland and has 34 offices throughout Maine.
Editor's Note: This article has been updated to include the statement by Dead River Co., sent after deadline.
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