NEWS
LEGAL
A multifront conflict
A legal battle between Brown & Root and a new consulting arm of CSRS is about more than what meets the eye: At stake is getting a leg up in the growing renewable energy sector. BY STEPHANIE RIEGEL IN EARLY MARCH, Brown and Root Industrial Services sued two of its former top executives and the company they now work for— Fides Consulting, an upstart subsidiary of local engineering firm CSRS. The 19th Judicial District Court suit alleges Andy Farris and Kevin Steed violated noncompete agreements when they left BRIS, took BRIS trade secrets with them, and recruited BRIS employees to work at Fides. Two months later, BRIS upped the ante in the legal battle, filing suit in federal court against seven of its former engineers, alleging the mid-level employees took confidential files and documents from BRIS prior to leaving the company to go work for Fides. Among the defendants are Farris’ sons, Daniel and Michael Farris. While the legal battle may not be particularly unusual by large-market corporate standards, it is noteworthy in Baton Rouge’s tight-knit business community, in part, because it pits
two of the city’s best-known business leaders—Jim Bernhard and Tim Barfield—against each other, though neither is named nor mentioned in either lawsuit. BRIS is owned by businessman Jim Bernhard’s private equity firm Bernhard Capital Partners. Fides is owned by CSRS, whose president, Tim Barfield, was a longtime executive at Bernhard’s former company, The Shaw Group, serving as its president and COO in the early 2000s. Beyond that, however, the litigation is interesting because BRIS is a large, established industrial contractor while Fides is a small, startup consulting firm. On the surface it might seem puzzling that Goliath would go after the proverbial David—until you understand that Fides was formed specifically to work with Houston-based Grön Fuels on the development of a proposed $9.2 billion, low-carbon, renewable diesel facility at the Port of Greater Baton Rouge. The Grön deal has been years
in the making and is still wending its way through the regulatory approval process. But if it comes to fruition, as expected, it could be just the beginning of a series of investments and ancillary projects related to the facility, which will be one of the largest renewable diesel plants in the region. The BRIS suits, experts say, illustrate the competitive nature of that burgeoning field. Renewable energy is a growing, high-stakes industry. Attracting—and retaining—qualified talent is key for success. “In the energy business today, human capital is very important, particularly as you are building these clean energy projects,” says David Dismukes, executive director of the LSU Center for Energy Studies. “These people don’t just drop out of thin air. You don’t just go to LSU and hire someone right out of school.” ALLEGATIONS AND DENIALS Executives with BRIS and CSRS decline to comment on the cases
because of the ongoing litigation. Attorneys for both sides have made limited comments. “Obviously our position is set forth in the petitions,” says BRIS attorney Eric Miller. But in the months since the initial suit was filed, both sides have laid out their respective claims in dozens of court documents. According to documents filed by BRIS in March, Andy Farris, who was BRIS’ CEO at the time of his departure, and Steed, the former president of BRIS’ engineering division, violated their noncompete agreements shortly after they left BRIS by hiring away at least six engineers, designers, and managers, who followed them to Fides. “Farris and Steed have directly or indirectly in violation of their agreements targeted key employees and key positions of BRIS for employment with Fides for the purpose of competing directly with BRIS where CSRS and/or Fides was not in a position to do so previously,” court documents Daily-Report.com | BUSINESS REPORT, July 2021
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