MINNEAPOLIS – Cargill filed a breach of contract lawsuit against a former employee on allegations he took confidential and proprietary information about the company's operations to rival JBS USA.

Cargill filed the complaint against Jason Kuan in US District Court in Colorado on Aug. 21. Kuan spent 20 years working for Cargill, most recently as vice president and general manager of Cargill’s Case Ready Canada division. The company alleges Kuan downloaded confidential and proprietary information from a laptop before abruptly resigning Aug. 1.


Greeley, Colo.-based JBS USA subsequently hired Kuan to lead its case-ready business. JBS USA, a subsidiary of JBS SA, Sáo Paulo, Brazil, was not named in the lawsuit.