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From the Opalesque team:

New York based hedge fund research and advisory firm Aksia filed suit in New York State Supreme Court on Thursday claiming two former employees who recently left to join a competitor firm stole confidential and proprietary research reports, templates, investment data and methodologies. Aksia also alleges the pair tampered with business records and deleted electronic information including thousands of emails.

According to documents filed by Seward and Kissel on behalf of Aksia the named defendants are Sarah Cole and Corissa Mastropieri. The firm argues that each of the pair is in breach of the confidentiality, non-solicitation agreements and policies outlined in the firm's Employee Handbook.

The suit says "proprietary and sensitive research and investment methodologies and work product, as well as its business and marketing strategies, all of which Aksia maintains as a confidential trade secret, give it a competitive edge and are critical to maintaining its client relationships and goodwill."

Aksia alleges the pair worked together starting in November 2009 to take confidential and proprietary information and leave the firm. Through forensic analysis of the company's computers and servers the firm cites early November internet searches for places to purchase USB flash drives, followed by mass downloads onto such devices as well as remote downloads recording in excess of 2 gigabytes of data. The firm also ci......................

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