Logistics provider accuses Alabama carrier of raiding its workforce, stealing trade secrets

Imperative Logistics is accusing two former employees and Alabama Motor Express of orchestrating a scheme to steal confidential customer, pricing and operational information and use it to divert business. Imperative Logistics LLC and subsidiary DTH Expeditors LLC filed a lawsuit on Monday in the U. S.

District Court for the Northern District of Georgia against Alabama Motor Express, doing business as AMX Expedited, and former Imperative employees Joseph Cochran and Mary Evette Jones.

The complaint seeks injunctive relief, compensatory and exemplary damages, attorneys’ fees and other costs over what Imperative describes as a coordinated effort to misappropriate trade secrets, violate employee restrictive covenants and interfere with the logistics provider’s customer relationships.

Imperative, based in Portland, Oregon, provides freight logistics, freight forwarding and expedited freight services. The company acquired DTH Expeditors in February 2025. window. googletag = window. googletag || {cmd: []}; googletag. cmd. push(function() {var gptSlot = googletag.

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Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration data lists AMX with 234 power units and 234 drivers. At the center of the lawsuit are Cochran and Jones, two longtime DTH employees who remained with the operation after Imperative’s acquisition, according to court filings.

Jones had worked for DTH and Imperative since 2000 and was director of operations when she left the company Feb. 10. Cochran had worked there since 2005 as an area sales representative before resigning March 30. Both subsequently joined AMX. Imperative alleges their departures were part of a much broader exodus.

According to the complaint, five employees from the same Imperative office left in rapid succession to work for AMX. Imperative alleges the departures were a “coordinated effort” encouraged by AMX to acquire key employees as well as access to Imperative’s trade secrets, customer relationships and other confidential information.

The lawsuit says Cochran and Jones had signed restrictive covenant agreements prohibiting them from improperly using or disclosing trade secrets and confidential information and from soliciting certain customers and employees following their departure. window. googletag = window. googletag || {cmd: []}; googletag. cmd.

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display('div-gpt-ad-1665767553440-0'); }); Lawsuit alleges customer, pricing data was taken Imperative alleges Cochran sent or blind-copied confidential documents to his personal email account shortly before leaving the company.

The information allegedly included customer financial data, margin and pricing information, active shipment lists, sales codes, details about customer-specific logistics operations and a competitive bid. Imperative claims Cochran retained the information so he could access it after joining AMX.

The lawsuit focuses heavily on an unidentified longtime customer referred to as “Client A.” After joining AMX, Cochran allegedly began pursuing and bidding against Imperative for the customer’s freight.

The complaint says Cochran arranged a lunch with Client A even after Imperative sent cease-and-desist letters — an event Imperative says it discovered when the customer mistakenly sent the invitation to Cochran’s former company email address. window. googletag = window. googletag || {cmd: []}; googletag. cmd. push(function() {var gptSlot = googletag.

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