09:14 AM PDT on Friday, July 16, 2004

Associated Press

EUGENE, Ore. -- A Junction City motor home manufacturer is suing its rival for allegedly stealing trade secrets, including a shark logo and the plans for a new line of motor coaches.

Country Coach Inc. filed suit Wednesday against industry newcomer Legacy Coach LLC of Coburg, seeking $10 million in damages in Lane County Circuit Court. It claims that the newer manufacturer misappropriated intellectual property related to its upcoming Legacy line, according to a report by the Register-Guard in Eugene.

Country Coach's attorney Randy Turnbow, said in a statement that the company is not trying to crush a new competitor. It's simply trying to protect its intellectual property, he wrote.

"Country Coach Inc. welcomes competition in its business but only fair and legal competition," Turnbow wrote in a statement. "It has filed this action only because it believes that doing so was necessary to recover its misappropriated property and protect its legal rights."

Legacy Coach founder Thomas Nestell had yet to file a response.

Nestell has a long history in the local recreation vehicle manufacturing scene. He founded Coburg-based Marathon Coach in 1983, and recently spent eight months working on Country Coach's line of motor homes built on bus chassis.

Two months ago, Nestell unveiled Legacy Coach, which makes RVs built on bus chassis. He started up the 30-employee facility with $150,000 in state economic development funding.

According to the lawsuit, Country Coach hired Nestell in May 2002 as a consultant, and a few months later as a manager, to redesign its bus chassis coach line.

Country Coach says that Nestell misused his position to take confidential information about the Legacy line, then began competing with the company in September of 2002. He left Country Coach on Feb. 19, 2003, the lawsuit states.

Evidence in the lawsuit includes a logo depicting a stylized shark designed for Country Coach in 2002, and a nearly identical label for Legacy Coach.