White Bird sues former employee, new crisis care nonprofit

This story has been updated.

White Bird Clinic has sued a former employee and Willamette Valley Crisis Care, accusing them of stealing confidential files and misusing the “CAHOOTS” name.

White Bird, a nonprofit that used to operate CAHOOTS, a mobile crisis response program, filed a complaint in Lane County Circuit Court on Tuesday, Nov. 18, against former employee Alese “Dandy” Colehour and Willamette Valley Crisis Care, known as WVCC, a nonprofit formed to revive crisis response service in Eugene.

On Thursday morning, Lane County Circuit Judge Michelle Bassi granted White Bird a temporary restraining order blocking Colehour and WVCC from using or disclosing any White Bird information — including the confidential files — and from using or suggesting “any affiliation” with the CAHOOTS trademark.

The defendants are scheduled appear in court on Nov. 26 for a preliminary injunction hearing, which will determine whether the court should extend the order. A judge granted a subsequent motion, filed by the defendants on Nov. 25, to postpone the hearing to Dec. 3.

White Bird ended its CAHOOTS services in Eugene in April. The program, an acronym for Crisis Assistance Helping Out On The Streets, had been operating in Eugene since 1989 and gained national recognition for its work providing mobile assistance, primarily to people suffering mental health crises. White Bird still operates the program in Springfield through a separate contract.

Since White Bird ended operations in Eugene, current and former White Bird employees who worked for CAHOOTS founded WVCC.

WVCC Operations Director Michelle Perin told Lookout Eugene-Springfield that all parties met at the courthouse Thursday and agreed to an “immediate remedy” to the complaints referencing Colehour.

Perin said WVCC was advised of White Bird’s lawsuit Wednesday evening, and that she and Colehour met with the clinic’s lawyers after an ex parte hearing, a legal proceeding where a judge hears from only one party in a case.

“None of the information referenced, including ‘trade secrets,’ was accessed by or shared with any member of WVCC,” Perin said.

Perin said WVCC formed to bring a community responder crisis service back to Eugene when White Bird was no longer able to run CAHOOTS.

WVCC has since engaged in “collaborative narrative strategy” with White Bird Executive Director Amée Markwardt to amplify each others’ work, to thank the clinic for starting and stewarding CAHOOTS, and to acknowledge WVCC as the organization with the leadership expertise and capacity to return integrated mobile crisis services to Eugene, Perin said.

Perin pointed to WVCC’s creation of its own nonprofit, logo and board of directors. When the clinic was advised by White Bird in July of potential CAHOOTS trademark infringement, it immediately took action to correct it, she said.

“While moving towards our goals of returning a community responder program to Eugene, we’ve worked to communicate clearly who we are as former White Bird CAHOOTS staff and clinical leadership, but that we do not represent White Bird Clinic’s CAHOOTS program,” Perin said.

The lawsuit’s allegations

The complaint against Colehour and WVCC alleges that on Nov. 7, 2025, just minutes before Colehour, who uses they/them pronouns, submitted their resignation from White Bird, they secretly downloaded “voluminous” confidential files to a personal device.

The materials included patient and client health information, training manuals, job descriptions, board meeting minutes and trademark and copyright protected information, per the complaint.

Colehour had previously signed confidentiality and employment agreements that prohibited accessing information beyond what they needed for their job and knew they had to return all materials upon departure, according to the complaint.

White Bird contends Colehour did not disclose the alleged download and never returned the information, violating those agreements and constituting misappropriation of trade secrets, conversion of property and breach of contract.

The suit further contends that the confidential information allegedly taken by Colehour was “likely used for the benefit” of WVCC, which the complaint says “was established by, or with the help of” Colehour in May 2025. 

Four former or current CAHOOTS workers helped found WVCC. Colehour’s LinkedIn profile states that they began as co-director of development for WVCC in May 2025; Colehour’s job as a full-time crisis counselor for CAHOOTS is dated September 2025.

The complaint alleges that WVCC has used the CAHOOTS trademark in intrastate and interstate commerce, including on social media and in online marketing and solicitation, which is likely to cause confusion about an affiliation with White Bird. The CAHOOTS trademark was registered to White Bird in 2023, per the complaint.

“WVCC acted with intent to trade upon the goodwill and reputation of [White Bird] and to cause confusion, cause mistake, or deceive the community,” the complaint states. 

White Bird argues that if vendors, donors, volunteers and other local and national community members associate White Bird’s services with WVCC, there will be “incalculable and irreparable damage” to White Bird’s reputation and the “significant goodwill” associated with its brand and trademark that the clinic developed.

Former CAHOOTS employee, White Bird respond

A former CAHOOTS employee told Lookout that the documents in question were located on a shared drive that all employees can access, and that there was no indication the documents were confidential.

The former employee spoke to Lookout anonymously because they had not been authorized to speak publicly about the lawsuit.

The drive doesn’t include confidential patient information, the former employee said, adding that it is not unusual for employees to download files off the drive.

Markwardt, the White Bird executive director, disputed some of those claims in a statement to Lookout on Friday as “patently false.”

The clinic’s complaint, motion for a temporary restraining order and supporting declarations show that White Bird’s allegations of the former employee taking confidential information like patient data are “entirely accurate,” she said.

“Because this matter involves protected health information, White Bird is legally required under HIPAA and state privacy laws to act swiftly to safeguard client records,” she said. “We moved as quickly as possible to secure those records, and just yesterday morning, a court granted an order to do exactly that, after reviewing the evidence presented.”

Markwardt said the clinic fully supports the community’s desire to provide crisis care, but wanting to provide care isn’t a reason to “compromise values, norms, and the privacy we guarantee our clients.”

Seeking damages

White Bird is seeking injunctions requiring Colehour and WVCC to return all confidential files and stop using or sharing them, and damages in an amount to be determined at trial. 

The clinic is also seeking attorney fees and punitive damages in an amount representing twice the amount of actual damages awarded for “willful or malicious” misappropriation.

The clinic is also seeking orders prohibiting WVCC from using the CAHOOTS trademark and removing it from all online and printed materials, including solicitations and bids, and disgorgement of any value WVCC gained from using the CAHOOTS name. 

Attorneys for White Bird didn’t immediately return a request for comment.

The city plans to request proposals from potential providers for a new crisis response service in Eugene, a formal step needed before the city can contract with a provider. WVCC plans to apply for the contract.

White Bird recently agreed to a settlement with a former CAHOOTS worker who said she’d been retaliated against for reporting a co-worker’s sexual misconduct.