Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-caed-1_07-cv-00349/USCOURTS-caed-1_07-cv-00349-28/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 890
Nature of Suit: Other Statutory Actions
Cause of Action: 28:1332 Diversity-Breach of Contract

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JOINT CONSENT DECREE AND [PROPOSED] ORDER APPROVING

SAME - Case No. 07-CV-00349 LJO (SMS)

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David J. Miclean (CSB# 115098/miclean@fr.com) 

Katherine D. Prescott (CSB# 215496/prescott@fr.com) 

Erin O. Dungan (CSB# 227090/dungan@fr.com) 

Enrique D. Duarte (CSB# 247523/duarte@fr.com) 

FISH & RICHARDSON P.C. 

500 Arguello St., Suite 500 

Redwood City, CA 94063 

Tel: (650) 839-5070 

Fax: (650) 839-5071 

Attorneys for Plaintiffs 

CARGILL, INCORPORATED and CAN TECHNOLOGIES, INC. 

Gregory S. Mason (CSB# 148997/greg.mason@mccormickbarstow.com) 

MCCORMICK, BARSTOW, SHEPPARD, WAYTE & CARRUTH LLP 

P.O. Box 28912 

5 River Park Place East 

Fresno, CA 93720-1501 

Tel: (559) 433-1300 

Fax: (559) 433-2300 

Attorneys for Defendants 

DOUGLAS DEGROFF and DIVERSIFIED DAIRY SOLUTIONS, LLC. 

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 

(FRESNO DIVISION) 

CARGILL, INCORPORATED and CAN 

TECHNOLOGIES, INC., 

 Plaintiffs, 

v. 

MATTHEW BUDINE; DOUGLAS W. 

DEGROFF; DIVERSIFIED DAIRY 

SOLUTIONS, LLC; LUCIANA JONKMAN; 

PROGRESSIVE DAIRY SOLUTIONS, 

INC.; and BRIAN SUNDBERG, 

 Defendants. 

Case No. 07-CV-00349 LJO (SMS) 

JOINT CONSENT DECREE AND 

[PROPOSED] ORDER APPROVING 

SAME 

 Cargill Incorporated and CAN Technologies (collectively “CARGILL”) and Douglas W. 

DeGroff (hereinafter “DeGROFF”) jointly submit the following consent decree and proposed 

order: 

Case 1:07-cv-00349-LJO-SMS Document 145 Filed 11/08/07 Page 1 of 4
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JOINT CONSENT DECREE AND [PROPOSED] ORDER APPROVING

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 1. DeGROFF was employed by Cargill as a dairy nutritionist consultant from 

February 2003 through January 31, 2007. On January 31, 2007, DeGROFF and four other Cargill 

employees resigned to form competing dairy consultant businesses, Progressive Dairy Solutions, 

Inc. (“Progressive”) and Diversified Dairy Solutions, LLC (“Diversified”). DeGROFF is an 

employee of Diversified. 

2 On February 24, 2003 DeGROFF signed an Employee Confidential Information, 

Inventions, and Original works of Authorship Agreement (“the Confidential Information 

Agreement”) requiring that neither during or after the termination of his employment with Cargill 

would DeGROFF use, disclose or communicate to any person, firm or corporation, in any manner 

whatsoever, any trade secrets or confidential information of CARGILL except as required by his 

duties to CARGILL (including, but not limited to, information regarding customers, the prices of 

products, proprietary business information, the manner of CARGILL business operations, its 

business plans, and processes or other data). DeGROFF acknowledges that the Confidential 

Information Agreement requires the return to CARGILL, at the time of termination, confidential 

information and materials of whatever nature arising from employment with CARGILL. 

3. DeGROFF also agreed, as a condition of employment with CARGILL, to comply 

with CARGILL’s “Guiding Principles” which require, inter alia, that CARGILL employees will 

not become involved in situations that create a conflict of interest between the company and the 

employee. 

 4. DeGROFF acknowledges that the resigning CARGILL employees (the Defendants 

in this action) improperly used certain information, that CARGILL claims to be confidential, 

proprietary and trade secret, during their preparation for and employment by Progressive and 

Diversified, to wit: information pertaining to individual dairies (formulas, recipes, ingredient 

analysis’s, etc.) was used by Progressive and Diversified in connection with their competing dairy 

consulting businesses after the Defendants left CARGILL, and the Defendants created and used a 

spreadsheet with proprietary CARGILL ingredient and nutrient information, which DeGROFF 

understood was later used as a starting point to populate information in the Brill dairy feed 

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JOINT CONSENT DECREE AND [PROPOSED] ORDER APPROVING

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formulation system used by Progressive and Diversified to generate rations and feed formulas for 

their customers. 

5. DeGROFF also acknowledges that the group planning to leave CARGILL (himself, 

Budine, Jonkman, Schwegel, and Sundberg) wanted to make sure they had the feed formulas for 

all of their CARGILL customers’ dairies to insure a smooth transition when they left CARGILL. 

DeGROFF transferred approximately fifty total dairy feed formulas, for the fifteen dairies he 

serviced, to his Diversified computer before he left CARGILL. Jonkman, Sundberg, and 

Schwegel did the same for the feed formulas used at their customers’ dairies. 

 6. DeGROFF also acknowledges that certain premix feed formulas used by 

Progressive and Diversified were developed by Matt Budine while Budine was still employed as 

the general manager of Cargill Animal Nutrition’s Pacific Coast Division. 

 7. DeGROFF admits it would be wrong and unethical if any individual Defendant 

deleted current dairy MAX files from their CARGILL computers before the computers were 

returned to CARGILL upon resignation. DeGROFF also admits it would be wrong and unethical 

if any individual Defendant bid out feed for customers to suppliers other than CARGILL, or 

provided independent nutrition consulting services, while still employed by CARGILL. 

 8. All claims CARGILL brought against DeGROFF in this action are hereby 

dismissed with prejudice pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 41(a); and 

 9. CARGILL and DeGROFF shall bear their own attorneys’ fees and costs. 

Dated: October 11, 2007 FISH & RICHARDSON P.C. 

By: /s/ David J. Miclean 

 David J. Miclean 

Attorneys for Plaintiffs 

CARGILL, INCORPORATED AND CAN 

TECHNOLOGIES, INC. 

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JOINT CONSENT DECREE AND [PROPOSED] ORDER APPROVING

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Dated: October 11, 2007 McCORMICK, BARSTOW, SHEPPARD, 

WAYTE & CARRUTH LLP 

By: /s/ Gregory S. Mason 

 Gregory S. Mason 

Attorneys for Defendants 

DOUGLAS W. DEGROFF and DIVERSIFIED 

DAIRY SOLUTIONS, LLC 

 IT IS SO ORDERED. 

Dated: November 7, 2007 /s/ Lawrence J. O’Neill Honorable Lawrence J. O’Neill 

 United States District Judge 

#50442515

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