The ride-hailing wars aren’t going away.
Lyft, a San Francisco-based hail-a-car start-up, filed a lawsuit on Wednesday evening against a former executive, arguing that he stole confidential company information in the weeks before he left the company.
“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,” said Erin Simpson, a Lyft spokeswoman.
The lawsuit accuses Travis VanderZanden, Lyft’s former chief operating officer, who left the company in August, of downloading important company information including financial data, information on future product plans and growth statistics. The lawsuit says that Mr. VanderZanden’s personal online storage account contained more than 98,000 files and folders after he left the company, according to a copy of the filing obtained by The New York Times. Mr. VanderZanden joined Uber, Lyft’s strongest rival, just two months after leaving Lyft.
“VanderZanden’s conduct not only breaches the confidentiality agreement, but also breaches fiduciary duties of loyalty and confidence he owed to Lyft as an officer and employee,” the suit said.
For years, Lyft and Uber have been locked in a bitter, continuing battle to conquer the ride-hailing industry. Both Uber and Lyft have resorted to cutthroat tactics to beat each other, including systematic attempts to poach drivers and employees as well as mimicking each other’s product releases. Both companies offer similar services: Users can call a private car using a smartphone app.
The lawsuit hints that Mr. VanderZanden had second thoughts about resigning. Before he left, Mr. VanderZanden sent an email telling Lyft’s co-founders that everyone should “think this through … before we finalize,” according to the filing.
“I love you guys like brothers,” Mr. VanderZanden wrote, according to the suit.
Uber did not respond to a request for comment. Efforts to reach Mr. VanderZanden have been unsuccessful, but he denied Lyft’s allegations in a series of tweets posted on Thursday.
“Lyft’s PR has lost it, the allegations in their complaint are ridiculous,” he wrote. “Just to be crystal clear, I did not take any confidential data to Uber.”