Eugene’s White Bird Clinic is suing a rival nonprofit, Willamette Valley Crisis Care, over copyright infringement and the stealing of trade secrets.
WVCC was founded after White Bird shuttered CAHOOTS services in Eugene in April. The new nonprofit hopes to launch a similar mobile crisis intervention program, and has multiple former CAHOOTS staff members on board.
White Bird is now alleging that minutes before WVCC co-founder Alese “Dandy” Colehour sent a resignation letter to White Bird earlier this month, they downloaded confidential client information, training manuals and other materials to give to the newer non-profit.
White Bird also is accusing the WVCC of infringing on its CAHOOTS trademark through advertising materials and other public outreach efforts, and of passing off White Bird’s services as its own.
“If vendors, donors, volunteers and other local and national community members associate Defendant WVCC with Plaintiff’s services, it will cause incalculable and irreparable damage to Plaintiff’s reputation,” read White Bird’s complaint.
The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in Lane County Circuit Court, and Lookout Eugene-Springfield first reported on it.
White Bird said it planned to seek monetary damages, and requested more information about how much WVCC has earned.
On Wednesday, a judge issued a temporary restraining order, telling WVCC to avoid association with the trademark, and to return any White Bird property in its possession, including confidential materials.
In an email to KLCC Friday, White Bird Executive Director Amee Markwardt said the organization's top priority was protecting its clients' privacy.
"Any suggestion that no confidential information was taken by the plaintiffs, or that the materials at issue were not confidential, is incorrect," said Markwardt. "In the case client data affected by this, White Bird will proactively inform clients."
WVCC didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The lawsuit comes as the Eugene city officials have signaled they'll seek applications for a new peer navigation service in the city, to help fill the gaps left by the loss of CAHOOTS.
WVCC has previously said it wants to compete for that funding when it becomes available. Markwardt said White Bird will need to review the full Request for Proposal before deciding whether to apply.
