Owner of bowling alley promises not to sell alcoholic beverages in competition with neighboring restaurant and bar. The owner and operator of a restaurant and bar where liquor was sold and consumed conveyed an adjacent unimproved portion of the lot to purchasers who intended to and did construct and operate a bowling alley there. In… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Practice & Procedure
Subscribe to Practice & Procedure RSS FeedVideo Interview: Discussing Social Media Password Laws with LXBN TV
Posted in Legislation, Practice & Procedure, Privacy, Social MediaFollowing up on my recent posts on lawmakers working to implement social media password laws in Oregon, Washington and Vermont, I had the opportunity to speak with Colin O’Keefe of LXBN. In the brief interview, I explain that the laws are very similar to what we’ve seen elsewhere in the country and, like those, that… Continue Reading
Massachusetts Case Demonstrates Benefit of “Material Change in Employment” Clause in Non-Compete Agreement
Posted in Non-Compete Enforceability, Practice & ProcedureBy Erik Weibust and Ryan Malloy The Massachusetts Superior Court recently rejected a claim by a former employee that his post-employment restrictive covenants were void because his employment had materially changed, relying on a clause in the employee’s agreement providing that the covenants would survive any such changes. Plaintiff A.R.S Services, Inc. commenced litigation against… Continue Reading
Hey, I Thought We Had An Agreement: California Appellate Court Allows Party To Seek Attorney’s Fees In Trade Secret Case
Posted in Practice & Procedure, Trade SecretsBy Mark Hansen The Agreement Congratulations! You’ve just entered into an agreement to settle your trade secret misappropriation case. Defendants will pay you money damages, and agree that you may move the court for fees and costs under Civil Code section 3426.4, based upon their alleged willful and malicious misappropriation. Defendants reserve the right to… Continue Reading
Mobile Device Forensics – Are You in the Know?
Posted in Computer Fraud, cybersecurity, Data Theft, Practice & Procedure, Privacy, Social Media, Trade SecretsAs a special feature of our blog –special guest postings by experts, clients, and other professionals –please enjoy this blog post by digital forensics experts James Whitehead and Arnold Garcia with iDiscovery Solutions. -Editor Robert Milligan By James Whitehead and Arnold Garcia Smartphones, tablets and other “Smart” mobile devices are becoming a mainstay within the… Continue Reading
Massachusetts Federal District Court Rules That Initiating Contact Not Necessary For Finding of Solicitation In Breach of Customer Non-Solicitation Agreement
Posted in Non-Compete Enforceability, Practice & Procedure, Trade SecretsBy Erik Weibust and Ryan Malloy An employer can enforce a non-solicitation provision against a former salesman even where the clients initiated contact with the salesman, according to Judge Douglas P. Woodlock of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts In Corporate Technologies, Inc. v. Harnett, et al., , a Massachusetts information technology company,… Continue Reading
Upcoming Complimentary Webinar: Trade Secret and Non-Compete Legislative Update
Posted in Legislation, Non-Compete Enforceability, Practice & Procedure, Restrictive Covenants, Trade SecretsIn Seyfarth’s sixth installment in its series of 2013 Trade Secret Webinars, on Tuesday, June 25, 2013 at 12:00 p.m. Central Time, Seyfarth attorneys Bob Stevens, Erik Weibust and Dan Hart will discuss the significant statutory changes to several jurisdictions’ laws regarding trade secrets and restrictive covenants and pending legislation proposed in additional jurisdictions over the past year. As… Continue Reading
New Oklahoma Law Clarifies Enforceability of Non-Solicitation of Employee Covenants
Posted in Non-Compete Enforceability, Practice & Procedure, Restrictive CovenantsOklahoma recently passed a new law (Senate Bill 1031) that clarifies the enforceability of non-solicitation of employee covenants within the state. The new law attempts to resolve uncertainties that may have arisen about such restrictive covenants after the Oklahoma Supreme Court’s 2011 decision in Howard v. Nitro-Life Technologies, LLC. In Howard, the Oklahoma Supreme Court… Continue Reading
Illinois Appellate Court Partially Reverses Broad Non-Compete Injunction Against Physicians
Posted in Non-Compete Enforceability, Practice & ProcedureThe First District of the Illinois Appellate Court, in the case of Northwest Podiatry Center, Ltd., et al. v. Ochwat, et al., recently found that a trial court improperly enjoined physician-defendants in a few key respects. The decision serves as a reminder of how courts will closely scrutinize restrictive covenants in Illinois. The case was filed after… Continue Reading
Pennsylvania Appellate Court Orders Sanctions for Plaintiff’s Bad-Faith Trade Secret Misappropriation Claims
Posted in Practice & Procedure, Trade SecretsOn May 17, 2013, a Pennsylvania appellate court, with one of its judges dissenting, ordered that the trial court award attorneys’ fees to a married couple whose neighbors wrongfully accused them of trade secret misappropriation regarding flagstone artwork. Krafft v. Downey, Pa. Sup. Ct. No. 476 WDA 2012 (Donohue, J.). According to the majority, plaintiffs… Continue Reading
Washington State Passes Social Networking Privacy Legislation
Posted in Legislation, Practice & Procedure, Privacy, Social MediaOn May 21, 2013, Washington Governor Jay Inslee signed into law Senate Bill 5211, which with certain exceptions prohibits mandatory employee disclosure of ‘personal’ social-networking account information and profiles. The revised bill passed the Washington house and senate unanimously, and will go into effect on July 28, 2013. Washington thus became the ninth state to… Continue Reading
Protecting Confidential Information and Client Relationships in the Financial Services Industry Webinar
Posted in Practice & Procedure, Restrictive Covenants, Trade SecretsPlease join us for a complimentary webinar entitled Protecting Confidential Information and Client Relationships in the Financial Services Industry on May 23rd at 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. c.s.t. The fourth webinar of the 2012 series will focus on trade secret and client relationship considerations in the banking and finance industry, with a particular focus on a… Continue Reading
Seyfarth Attorneys Lead Trade Secrets and Cybersecurity Program
Posted in Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, Data Theft, Espionage, Practice & Procedure, Trade SecretsCalifornia partners Robert Milligan and Jim McNairy will be presenting at a day long Bridgeport Trade Secret and Cybersecurity Program in Los Angeles on May 17th. Trade secret litigation and employee mobility cases are the hottest areas of intellectual property and employment litigation. More and more senior level executives and employees are leaving one company to… Continue Reading
California Federal Court Dismisses Computer Fraud and State Unfair Competition Claims Alleged Against Ex-Employees Accused Of Stealing Computer Source Code
Posted in Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, Practice & ProcedureA designer and marketer of stereophonic technology for presenting 3-D imaging on a computer screen recently sued some ex-employees in a California federal court for allegedly violating the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), among other claims. At some point, the ex-employees allegedly downloaded their former employer’s confidential computer code and provided it to their… Continue Reading
Is Your Company’s Customer List Still A Trade Secret If Your Company Uses Labeled Delivery Trucks?
Posted in Practice & Procedure, Trade SecretsDoes using a labeled truck identifying your company to deliver products to your clients make your client list publicly available? Will doing so undermine protecting your client list as a trade secret? Last month, the defendant in a case before a federal district judge in California tried to make that argument, and while the case was decided on other… Continue Reading
New Jersey Federal Court Issues Sanctions For Deletion of Facebook Profile
Posted in Practice & Procedure, Social MediaBy Jessica Mendelson and Grace Chuchla Litigants ought to think twice before deleting their Facebook profiles. Just this month, a New Jersey federal judge issued sanctions against a litigant in a personal injury case for deleting his Facebook profile after agreeing to grant defense counsel access to the profile. In Gatto v. United Air Lines, the… Continue Reading
Illinois Federal Court Issues Preliminary Injunction Prohibiting Use Of Misappropriated Trade Secrets But Rejects Request For Expanded Injunction Based On Alleged “Inevitable Disclosure”
Posted in Non-Compete Enforceability, Practice & Procedure, Restrictive Covenants, Trade SecretsA recent Illinois trade secrets and non-compete decision involving a 3D printing salesman serves as a reminder that some Illinois courts will scrutinze overly broad non-compete provisions and may limit injunctive relief to the territory that the employee actually serviced for their former employer. Fisher/Unitech, Inc. v. Computer Aided Technology, Inc., Case No. 13 C 2090 (N.D.Ill., 4/9/13)…. Continue Reading
Upcoming Webinar: Protecting Confidential Information and Client Relationships in the Financial Services Industry
Posted in Practice & Procedure, Restrictive Covenants, Trade SecretsIn Seyfarth’s fifth installment in its series of 2013 Trade Secret Webinars, on Thursday May 23, 2013 at 12:00 p.m. Central Time, Seyfarth attorneys Scott Humphrey, Daniel Lanciloti, and Jason Stiehl will focus on trade secret and client relationship considerations in the banking and finance industry, with a particular focus on a firm’s relationship with… Continue Reading
New Jersey Appellate Court Affirms No Damages Award Against Individual Defendants In Non-Compete Case
Posted in Non-Compete Enforceability, Practice & ProcedureA New Jersey jury decided that two individual defendants violated their non-competition contractual commitments but that they owed no damages. The trial court then denied the former employer’s motion to enjoin the individuals from continuing to compete. A few days ago, the State’s Appellate Court held that there was a plausible explanation for these several results… Continue Reading
California Court Tosses Idea Theft Suit Over LOST Television Show Out to Sea
Posted in Practice & Procedure, Trade Secrets, Unfair CompetitionBy Michael Baniak and Puya Partow-Navid Arthur Quiller-Couch formulated seven basic plots for a conflict. Following his formula, every movie and television show can be narrowed down to one of seven basic plots. Although the number of plots may be limited, there are inifinite ways to tell a story. In a town like Hollywood, where everyone… Continue Reading
Utah, New Mexico, and Arkansas Pass Social Media Legislation Restricting Employer Access to Personal Social Media Accounts
Posted in Legislation, Practice & Procedure, Social MediaBy Jessica Mendelson and Robert Milligan Social media legislation restricting access to personal social media accounts has been a hot topic in recent months, and as 2013 progresses, more and more states seem poised to pass such legislation. Here’s a roundup of some of the more recent social media legislation passed in Utah, New Mexico, and Arkansas:… Continue Reading
Federal Court Allows Service On Foreign Defendants Through Facebook
Posted in Legislation, Practice & Procedure, Social MediaDid you think Facebook was just for “likes” and “status” updates? Think again! A federal district court in New York recently tackled the issue of service of process via social media head on, permitting service via Facebook as a backup means of service for serving foreign defendants. In the case of Federal Trade Commission v. PCCare247, Inc.,… Continue Reading
Upcoming Webinar: How the America Invents Act Increases the Importance of Trade Secrets
Posted in Practice & Procedure, Trade SecretsIn Seyfarth’s fourth installment of its 2013 Trade Secrets Webinar series, on Tuesday, April 16, 2013, at 12:00 p.m. Central Standard Time, Seyfarth attorneys Jim McNairy, Michael Baniak, and Joseph Walker will address how the America Invents Act impacts the value of trade secret and patent protection, and what the implications may be for technology… Continue Reading
Growing California Trade Secret Preemption Doctrine May Thwart Efforts To Combat Employee Data Theft
Posted in Data Theft, Practice & Procedure, Trade Secrets, Unfair CompetitionBy Robert B. Milligan, Jessica Mendelson, and Daniel Joshua Salinas Company information that is sensitive, but may not rise to the level of a trade secret is protectable in California, isn’t it? Not necessarily. Some recent California decisions have significantly limited an employer’s ability to pursue certain claims and remedies based upon the theft of… Continue Reading