Kevin Hart
Ex-Staff Fireplace Again
At Restraining Order Over Alleged Firm Secrets and techniques
Revealed
Kevin Hart‘s firm and two of his former workers are in the midst of a nasty courtroom battle over alleged firm secrets and techniques … TMZ has realized.
In keeping with courtroom docs, obtained by TMZ, Kevin’s firm Hartbeat sued two former workers, Eric Eddings, who began working on the firm in 2022, and Lesley Gwam, who was employed in April 2023, again in February.
Per the go well with, Hartbeat says the duo had entry to intensive confidential and proprietary and commerce secret info, monetary efficiency information, partnership methods, and enterprise plans for Hartbeat’s audio and podcast division.
Hartbeat claimed Eric and Lesley used the confidential data to develop a competing podcast enterprise “whereas nonetheless employed at Hartbeat.”
Kevin’s firm claims the ex-employees even created and circulated an investor pitch deck in search of to boost $2 million for the brand new enterprise … allegedly saying “We’ve built this before. Now we’re building it for ourselves.” The go well with claimed that in late 2025, one in every of Hartbeat’s largest podcasting shoppers refused to increase its contract with Hartbeat attributable to Eric’s alleged mismanagement.
Within the courtroom docs, Hartbeat mentioned Eric and Lesley have been fired on January 30, 2026, the day after Hartbeat realized in regards to the pitch deck. A few days later, Hartbeat fired off a stop and desist demanding the duo to cease utilizing or revealing firm secrets and techniques … after which adopted up with a lawsuit in search of an injunction to dam them from doing the identical.
Hartbeat claimed the previous workers’ actions triggered a “ripple effect of decreasing overall revenue in our podcast and audio division, and as a result, Hartbeat was forced to downsize the division.”
In their very own authorized docs, Eric and Lesley are scoffing on the request for an injunction, claiming it was totally missing in benefit and nothing however a “poorly-veiled attempt to prevent” them from working.
The duo mentioned there isn’t any proof that they misappropriated any confidential info and claimed Hartbeat was wrongfully making an attempt to cease their new enterprise. They mentioned their deck used customary trade info, nothing from Hartbeat.
Eric identified that he labored at Sirius XM, a bigger firm than Hartbeat, earlier than he took the job at Kevin’s firm. Lesley mentioned she additionally had a ton of earlier expertise.
The duo mentioned they solely began engaged on their firm after Hartbeat made extreme cuts to the podcast division. Eric and Lesley mentioned they did work on their firm whereas employed however by no means sought buyers or started creating present ideas. They mentioned they nonetheless haven’t launched the corporate, partly due to the lawsuit filed by Hart, which they are saying has had a chilling impact on their means to speak to buyers.
The authorized forwards and backwards between Hartbeat and the previous workers was first detailed by Bloomberg.
The outlet mentioned Hartbeat removed round 12 workers in December, together with individuals who labored within the podcast division.
