By Joshua Salinas and Jessica Mendelson The secret is out, Tic Tacs and bubblegum have the most valuable and desirable real estate in the entire grocery store. On September 27, 2012, a district court for the Eastern District of New York granted in part and denied in part a motion to dismiss in a commercial… Continue Reading
Tag Archives: confidentiality agreements
Seventh Circuit Rejects Pool Technology Company’s Trade Secrets Claim
Posted in Trade SecretsOn March 29, 2012, the Seventh Circuit upheld summary judgment in favor of a defendant on plaintiff’s claims for trade secrets misappropriation and unjust enrichment, holding that plaintiff failed to take any measures, let alone reasonable measures, to protect its alleged trade secrets during joint marketing negotiations with defendant. Fail-Safe LLC v. A.O. Smith Corp.,… Continue Reading
Mark It Confidential: Allowing Customers To Share Price Quotes Eviscerates Trade Secret Status
Posted in Trade SecretsBy Jason Stiehl Often one of the most confidential aspects of a business is its pricing mechanism and the quotes that it provides its customers. It is for this reason that the general rule governing trade secret law is that a company’s non-published pricing is a trade secret. See generally PepsiCo, Inc. v. Redmond, 54 F.3d 1262, 1270… Continue Reading
In ‘Ashland Management,’ confidentiality knows no bounds.
Posted in Restrictive CovenantsBy Gary Glaser & Brian Murphy March 23, 2009 We live in a world where global markets are falling all around us; where competition is keener than ever, and where a company’s confidential business information, or "trade secrets," may provide it with its only critical edge over competitors. As a result, it is more important… Continue Reading
Arizona District Court Issues Decision Limiting Applicability Of Computer Fraud And Abuse Act Claims
Posted in Computer FraudA district court in Arizona recently issued a published decision limiting the use of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (“CFAA”) by employers who have been the victim of electronic data theft by their former employees. In Shamrock Foods v. Gast, — F.Supp.2d —-, 2008 WL 450556 (D.Ariz.), the district court held that a departing… Continue Reading
Home Builder Alleges Trade Secret Theft Of Strategic Plan By Former Executive
Posted in Breach of Fiduciary Duty, Trade SecretsOne of the nation’s large home builders recently filed suit against a former executive in federal court in Albuquerque, New Mexico for alleged misuse of the company’s trade secrets related to a highly confidential internal strategic plan. Pulte Home Corporation filed suit against former executive Lynn Galindo, a former area vice president based out of… Continue Reading
Bubble Bursts On Plaintiff Who Failed To Demonstrate That Trade Secret And Confidential Information Related To His NASCAR-Themed “Pit Crew Chew” Was Protected By Non-Disclosure Agreement
Posted in Restrictive Covenants, Trade SecretsA federal court in the Southern District of California recently burst the bubble on a plaintiff’s suit alleging that the defendant, the alleged creator of a novelty chewing gum product, had stolen the plaintiff’s idea for a NASCAR-themed bubble “chew” by granting the defendant’s motion for summary judgment. The decision provides a reminder to companies… Continue Reading
California Federal District Court Awards $ 6.6 Million In Damages In Trade Secret Suit
Posted in Restrictive Covenants, Trade SecretsAfter granting summary judgment for plaintiff in late November 2007, Judge Susan Illston of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California recently awarded plaintiff $6.6 million in damages, the majority of which related to future lost profits due to breach of contract and misappropriation of trade secrets. Although the motion for summary… Continue Reading
Parsing Non-Competition Clause, Georgia Court of Appeals Uncovers Unreasonable & Overbroad Restriction
Posted in Restrictive CovenantsTrujillo v. Great Southern Equipment Sales, LLC, No. A08A0245, 2008 WL 269606 (Ga. Ct. App. Feb. 1, 2008). Reviewing the “Confidentiality and Restrictive Covenant Agreement” signed by Sarah Alexandra Trujillo while employed by Great Southern Equipment Sales, LLC, the Georgia Court of Appeals reversed the part of the trial court’s judgment that enjoined Ms. Trujillo… Continue Reading
Magistrate Judge Denies Motion for Reconsideration in Trade Secrets Case
Posted in Restrictive CovenantsNational Elevator Cab & Door Corp. v. H & B, Inc., 2008 WL 207843 (E.D.N.Y.) No. 07 CV 1562 United States Magistrate Judge Levy recently denied a motion for reconsideration after he granted the plaintiff National Elevator Cab & Door Corp.’s motion for a preliminary injunction against defendant H & B, Inc. The litigation… Continue Reading
Coldwell Banker Sues Former Executives Who Form Competing Brokerage, Take Staff, Clients, and Trade Secrets
Posted in Computer Fraud, Restrictive CovenantsColdwell Banker Residential Brokerage v. D’Ambrosia, No. 08-CV-00166, Complaint (D. Md. Jan. 18, 2008) On January 18, 2008, Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage filed a federal lawsuit in Maryland against three former key employees and newly-formed competitor Car-Tay, Inc., an affiliate of GMAC Real Estate. The complaint alleges that the former employees, two of whom had… Continue Reading
Seventh Circuit Rules that Injunction is Insufficiently Specific in not Defining the “Trade Secrets and Confidential Information Covered
Posted in Computer Fraud, Trade SecretsIn Patriot Homes, Inc. v. Forest River Housing, Inc., No. 06-3012, 2008 WL 90081 (7th Cir. Jan. 10, 2008), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit vacated an injunction entered by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, ruling that it was insufficiently specific and therefore was not in compliance… Continue Reading
Defense Contractor Wins Nearly $23 Million in Trade Secrets Lawsuit Against Former Employees
Posted in Restrictive CovenantsInnovative Technologies Corp. v. Kenton Trace Technologies LLC et al., case number 03-cv-3674 Innovative Technologies Corp. (ITC) has won nearly $23 million in a trade secret suit against three former employees who competed against ITC while still employed by the Ohio-based defense contractor. The state jury awarded $17 million in punitive damages, in addition to… Continue Reading
DuPont Scientist Sentenced for Stealing Trade Secrets
Posted in Trade SecretsA recent ruling from the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware serves as a reminder that, in addition to civil liability, an ex-employee stealing his or her former employer’s trade secrets can face jail time and a fine. On November 6, 2007, former DuPont employee Gary Min was sentenced to 18 months in… Continue Reading
Former research director of vitamin supplement company accused of stealing precise formula he was hired to develop
Posted in Restrictive Covenants, Trade SecretsNew lawsuit filed in Utah accuses a former research scientist employed by a nutritional supplement company of stealing trade secrets, customers, and employees when forming a rival vegan supplement company. Systemic Formulas, Inc. claims that its former research director, Daeyoon Kim, is using Systemic’s trade secrets and proprietary information as the basis for its formula… Continue Reading
Ex-Employee’s Knowledge of Method that Former Employer Used in Calculating Bulk Product Quotes Leads Illinois Appellate Court to Enforce 24-Month Non-Competition and Non-Solicitation Agreements
Posted in Restrictive CovenantsAn Illinois Appellate Court recently affirmed a preliminary injunction granted to a medical products manufacturer against its former employee, enforcing 24-months’ non-competition and non-solicitation agreements. The non-competition agreement barred the defendant-employee from competing with the plaintiff with respect to all products and territory assigned to the defendant during his final 18 months of employment. The… Continue Reading