Starbucks Sues Dunkin' Donuts New Brand Chief; Coffee Chain Apparently Has Access to the Internet

(MoneyWatch)  It will be interesting to see how Paul Twohig, Dunkin' Donuts new brand operations officer, gets out of the lawsuit his former employer Starbucks has filed against him.

• Download Starbucks v. Twohig here.

In the complaint, Starbucks alleges that Twohig, as its former svp brand development, signed two agreements in which he promised not to take a job with a rival company within 18 months if he left Starbucks. He left Starbucks in March and became Dunkin's brand operations officer on Oct. 3.

Starbucks is especially annoyed at Twohig because Dunkin in the past has operated a web site titled "dunkinbeatsstarbucks.com."

Before he was appointed at Dunkin, Twohig allegedly called Starbucks in August asking to be let out of his non-compete agreement.

Then, in September, a Dunkin HR exec called Starbucks and was allegedly told that Twohig was not allowed to take a new job until the agreement was up.

It's fair to say at this point that Starbucks' suspicions were aroused:

On or about October 3, 2009, Starbucks learned, through periodic internet searches, that Twohig had apparently accepted a position with Dunkin Donuts as its Brand Operations Officer.

So the company filed suit. Dunkin told Brandweek:

"Dunkin' Brands is not party to any lawsuit with Starbucks. Certainly we are aware of the situation, but we do not feel it is appropriate to comment."

• Previously:
• No Trial in Sight for Dunkin' Donuts Marketing Kickback Case