CRANBERRY TWP — Westinghouse sued a former company vice president in federal court, alleging he stole confidential documents shortly before his employment was terminated.

In the lawsuit, filed Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, Westinghouse Electric Co. claims Michael E. Kirst, its former vice president of strategy and external affairs for Europe, Middle East and Africa, forwarded to himself confidential and proprietary information when he refused to return to the United States after a temporary assignment in Belgium.

The 11-count civil complaint alleges Kirst refused to repatriate following a roughly 11-year term in Belgium when the company requested he return to U.S. employ in late 2019. Westinghouse claims Kirst was “temporarily assigned” to the Brussels post, subject to repatriation at any point.

Rather than returning to the states, however, Kirst forwarded “crucial strategic initiatives, global market trend analyses and competitor updates” from a work account to his personal account, Westinghouse alleges, including documents setting “forth key areas and actions required to support Westinghouse's business plan” and areas of focus for an initiative in Ukraine.

The company also accuses Kirst of forwarding to himself email correspondence regarding commercial information regarding potential new business, which Westinghouse called “extraordinarily sensitive,” and regarding the company's Ukraine-European Union Energy Bridge project, which it called “highly confidential.”

In addition, Westinghouse claims Kirst sent to himself a document titled “Conventions 12-19,” which the company said could not have been confused for a non-confidential document.

“This document set forth the list of International Nuclear Third-Party Liability Conventions, obtained by Westinghouse through CIGNL (Contractors International Group on Nuclear Liability), an organization of which Westinghouse is a member,” the lawsuit states. “The email explicitly states that it is 'confidential/attorney-client privileged; do not forward outside CIGNL.'”

These actions, the company alleges, violated agreements Kirst signed during his employ, including non-disclosure and confidentiality agreements, as well as the company's acceptable use of technology policy, which explicitly prohibits the transfer of information from company to personal accounts, computers and networks.

“Mr. Kirst knew the value of this confidential information and ... knowingly, purposefully and intentionally misappropriated it with intent to use it for his personal gain and benefit, and to harm Westinghouse,” the company claims.

Among the counts Westinghouse claims in its lawsuit are a slew of federal and state laws, with the company alleging Kirst misappropriated trade secrets in violation of the Defend Trade Secrets Act and that he violated the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act as well as the Pennsylvania Uniform Trade Secrets Act.

The company also claims Kirst's actions constitute breaches of both the confidentiality and expatriation agreements, and they also assert several tort claims against Kirst, alleging his actions unjustly enriched himself in two different counts. Westinghouse additionally asserted common-law violations, alleging Kirst breached his fiduciary duty and duty of loyalty as well as a common-law claim of conversion of business information.

The company seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages as well as an injunction preventing Kirst from using the confidential information, an order mandating he return the confidential information, declare Kirst a U.S.-based employee not protected by Belgian employment law and attorney's fees.