Plaintiff alleges Defendant engaged in Corporate Espionage

Twin Rivers Paper Company LLC has filed a lawsuit against Complete Paper Inc., doing business as BiOrigin Specialty Products, and two former employees, Rachel Van Wychen and Kim Gerrits, alleging corporate espionage. The complaint was lodged in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin on February 2, 2026. Twin Rivers accuses BiOrigin and its former employees of misappropriating trade secrets to gain an unfair competitive advantage.

The legal battle centers around accusations that BiOrigin, with the help of Van Wychen and Gerrits—both previously employed by Twin Rivers—engaged in a scheme to steal confidential information. According to the complaint, Van Wychen and Gerrits were privy to sensitive data during their tenure at Twin Rivers due to their roles in sales and account management. This data included customer information, pricing strategies, product specifications, and manufacturing processes—all considered trade secrets by Twin Rivers. After leaving Twin Rivers for BiOrigin, they allegedly used this information to benefit their new employer unlawfully.

The plaintiff claims that after her resignation on December 2, 2025, Van Wychen accessed a shared Dropbox account containing confidential files using a personal device. This access reportedly occurred while she was already employed by BiOrigin. Furthermore, Gerrits is accused of downloading proprietary data onto personal USB drives shortly before resigning from Twin Rivers on January 29, 2026. The complaint suggests that these actions directly led to Twin Rivers losing significant business from a key client due to BiOrigin’s ability to undercut them using the stolen information.

Twin Rivers seeks various forms of relief from the court: immediate injunctive relief to prevent further misuse of its trade secrets; damages for financial losses incurred; specific performance requiring the return of all confidential materials; and an injunction against further unauthorized use or disclosure of its proprietary information. The plaintiff argues that monetary compensation alone would be insufficient given the irreparable harm caused by these alleged breaches.

Representing Twin Rivers are attorneys Christopher E. Duffy and Frances R. Fink from King & Spalding LLP. The case is presided over by Judge Barbara B. Crabb under Case No. 1:26-cv-172.