Brock Group, Apache Industrial To Arbitrate Trade Secrets Suit

Five ex-Brock Group employees accused of stealing trade secrets before they decamped to competitor Apache Industrial Group Inc. can enforce newly-discovered arbitration agreements against their former employer, a Louisiana federal court ruled.

Apache and the employees didn’t waive their right to arbitrate by delaying the motion to compel, because they didn’t know it existed until Brock’s counsel inadvertently referred to “the arbitration agreement” during a discovery conference, Judge John W. Degravelles of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana said Monday.

Brock’s 2008 employee handbook, which most of the employees signed, incorporates a dispute resolution policy with ...