I am a Texas attorney, and, while I cannot give you specific legal advice without knowing the facts regarding your situation, generally in a situation like this I would suggest that the employee not worry about it until they are actually sued, but to be proactive. Unfortunately, companies with deep pockets sometimes just choose to make former employees' lives miserable. If there is no non-compete or employment agreement, suits such as this are generally based on common-law trade secret misappropriation or the Texas theft liability act. If the employee has no idea why they are being sued, it may be beneficial to send a letter (certified return receipt requested) asking why they are suing and what the employee did to cause this and what they can do to avoid it - as an effort to prevent litigation, this may provide grounds to recoup attorney's fees if a suit results. Another thing to keep in mind is that if the threats of a suit negatively impact the employee's relationship with their new employer, they may have grounds for a suit or counterclaim against the previous employer.
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I am a Texas attorney, and, while I cannot give you specific legal advice without knowing the facts regarding your situation, generally in a situation like this I would suggest that the employee not worry about it until they are actually sued, but to be proactive. Unfortunately, companies with deep pockets sometimes just choose to make former employees' lives miserable. If there is no non-compete or employment agreement, suits such as this are generally based on common-law trade secret misappropriation or the Texas theft liability act. If the employee has no idea why they are being sued, it may be beneficial to send a letter (certified return receipt requested) asking why they are suing and what the employee did to cause this and what they can do to avoid it - as an effort to prevent litigation, this may provide grounds to recoup attorney's fees if a suit results. Another thing to keep in mind is that if the threats of a suit negatively impact the employee's relationship with their new employer, they may have grounds for a suit or counterclaim against the previous employer.