Uber executive Travis VanderZanden says allegations that he stole confidential documents from former employer Lyft are “ridiculous.” In a series of tweets posted this morning, the ex-COO of Lyft denied taking any confidential data with him to rival Uber and claims to have deleted all files he was accused of having in his possession.
Yesterday, Lyft filed suit against VanderZanden for breach of his confidentiality agreement and breach of fiduciary duty. In the suit, Lyft alleges the former executive had copied numerous files to his personal Dropbox account and backing up his Lyft emails and attachments to his personal computer before resigning.
According to the complaint, Lyft claims this information came to light after conducting a forensics analysis of VanderZanden’s company-issued laptop.
But VanderZanden tells a different tale. He claims via Twitter that he used his personal Dropbox account only to collaborate on documents with other Lyft employees while he was there, and says he “was invited to view many of the documents listed in the complaint by the co-founders directly.” After leaving Lyft, he claims that he realized Lyft hadn’t revoked invites to those documents and “deleted all remaining files myself.”
In summary, VanderZanden wrote, “All the facts will come out, but I wanted to clear up the mis-information and protect against this audacious attack on my reputation.”
Without having a third party look into the matter, it’s difficult to say whether or not VanderZanden has deleted the files or if he still has access to them. But in his Twitter defense, VanderZanden only responded to some of the charges levied by Lyft.
For instance, the complaint alleges the former exec had backed up company email — including contacts and attachments — to his personal computer the day before resigning, even creating a to-do item in Evernote reminding himself to do so. The company also claims VanderZanden solicited Lyft employees away from the company in breach of his confidentiality agreement.
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As we noted yesterday… With legal cases like this, it’s anyone’s guess how this will pan out. In the meantime, check out VanderZanden’s full response below:
Lyft’s PR has lost it, the allegations in their complaint are ridiculous.
— Travis VanderZanden (@travisv) November 6, 2014
Just to be crystal clear, I did not take any confidential data to Uber.
— Travis VanderZanden (@travisv) November 6, 2014
Like many other early employees at Lyft, I used my personal dropbox to collaborate on files.
— Travis VanderZanden (@travisv) November 6, 2014
In fact, I was invited to view many of the documents listed in the complaint by the co-founders directly.
— Travis VanderZanden (@travisv) November 6, 2014
After leaving Lyft and before joining Uber, I realized they hadn’t revoked my invites, so I deleted all remaining files myself.
— Travis VanderZanden (@travisv) November 6, 2014
All the facts will come out, but I wanted to clear up the mis-information and protect against this audacious attack on my reputation.
— Travis VanderZanden (@travisv) November 6, 2014
