Carrier alleges longtime manager sent hundreds of confidential files to himself after receiving termination notice
A longtime Carrier Corporation manager is accused of taking hundreds of confidential company files as he walked out the door, putting HR’s offboarding protocols in the spotlight.
On October 14, 2025, Carrier Corporation filed a lawsuit in the Western District of Texas against Humberto Avila, a former employee who spent more than two decades with the company. According to the complaint, Avila allegedly sent over 300 emails from his work account to his personal Hotmail address in the days following his termination notice, attaching documents containing confidential business information. Carrier claims Avila then deleted those emails from both his sent and deleted folders, raising concerns about the security of proprietary data during employee exits.
The company states that the files in question included product development plans and timeframes, supplier strategies, analyses of facility capacity and labor needs, and other commercially sensitive information. Carrier describes these documents as trade secrets—information that could provide competitors with insight into its operations if disclosed. The complaint also notes that Avila had access to financial data, pricing, margins, business plans, and other confidential materials due to his role as Senior Program Manager, Advanced Manufacturing Engineering.
Carrier’s HR and compliance teams had implemented several...
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