Accent Signage, former management team come to settlement in lawsuit

A Minneapolis-based interior signage company, at which the deadliest workplace shooting in the state took place, reached a settlement earlier this year with former members of its management team, according to court records.

Accent Signage filed the lawsuit against its former management team in March 2017. Details of the settlement were not immediately available.

The lawsuit centered on the company’s management team following a shooting in 2012, during which former employee Andrew Engeldinger killed six people before shooting himself.

The lawsuit alleged after management changes following the shooting, the company’s new chief executive officer and general manager, the new director of operations, and the new production manager conspired with another signage company to form a new business, Proxy Signs, despite entering an agreement with Accent Signage prohibiting them from disclosing confidential information.

The lawsuit alleged those former members of the management team planned to unlawfully gain access to Accent Signage’s top customers, confidential information, and proprietary production techniques and processes.

The conspiracy was fully revealed when a former Proxy Signs employee provided physical evidence and a sworn statement against the actions of those involved in the conspiracy.

A judge ordered dismissal of the suit in a Feb. 16 filing.