Breach of Fiduciary Duty

Subscribe to Breach of Fiduciary Duty via RSS

Throughout 2012, Seyfarth Shaw LLP’s dedicated Trade Secrets, Computer Fraud & Non-Competes Practice Group hosted a series of CLE webinars that addressed significant issues facing clients today in this important and ever changing area of law. The series consisted of eight webinars:

1) Employee Privacy, Social Networking at Work, and the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act Standoff;
2) Employee Theft…
Continue Reading 2012 Trade Secrets, Computer Fraud, and Non-Competes Webinar Series – Year in Review

By Michael Baniak

A Virginia federal court district court recently issued a significant decision awarding lost profits to an aggrieved employer for breach of fiduciary duty by a former employee. The Court found that the ex-employee was not able to deduct his services for the company as an expense against the damages award. Further, the Court found that the employer’s…
Continue Reading Virginia Federal Court Finds For Employer on Fidicuary Duty Claim Against Former Employee

A high profile trade secret dispute among the board members of one of the fashion world’s most well-known companies has the American fashion elite taking sides. Last month, Christopher Burch filed a breach-of-contract and tortious interference complaint against his ex-wife, fashion mogul Tory Burch, in Delaware Chancery Court. In response, Tory filed counterclaims in early November, in which she accused…
Continue Reading Breach of Fiduciary Duty and Trade Secret Misappropriation Alleged In “Preppy Clothing Dispute” Involving Fashion Designer Tory Burch

MPI, a Texas company, went to Kentucky and allegedly attempted to hire two Luvata employees, Foster and Meredith. Foster joined MPI soon thereafter. Over the course of the next few months while Meredith remained a Luvata employee, he and Foster allegedly spoke by phone repeatedly. In addition, prior to leaving Luvata for MPI, Meredith allegedly copied his employer’s computer…
Continue Reading Despite Allegations That Something Fishy Was Occurring, Kentucky Federal District Court Rules That Texas Corporate Defendant Was Not Subject To Personal Jurisdiction In Trade Secret Misappropriation Suit

In a legal matchup involving some Hollywood heavyweights, Thomas Randolph filed suit in Los Angeles Superior Court recently, alleging he was defrauded out of his stake in a prominent 3-D movie technology venture.

Randolph sued William Sherak, the son of Motion Picture Academy of Arts and Sciences President Tom Sherak and a prior chairman of 20th Century Fox’s domestic film…
Continue Reading Alleged Breach of Non-Disclosure Agreement Related To 3-D Technology At Issue In New California Suit Involving Hollywood Heavyweights

By Robert Milligan and Jeffrey Oh

In business, as in life, trust and communication are key to healthy and productive relationships. When these crucial elements are lost, as in the case of What 4 LLC v. Roman & Williams, Inc., 2012 WL 1815629 (N.D.Cal.), the fallout is often contentious and requires court intervention.

In a recent decision granting in…

Continue Reading California Federal District Court Finds That Plaintiffs May Assert A Claim For Alleged Misleading Actions of Agent and Misuse of Confidential Information Not Rising To Level Of A Trade Secret In Youth Hostel Dispute

On April 25, 2012, a federal judge in North Carolina issued a ruling granting in part and denying in part motions to dismiss involving claims for trade secret misappropriation, breach of contract, and conversion in a dispute between two pharmaceutical companies in the case of River’s Edge Pharmaceuticals v. Gorbec Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. This decision confirms, to an extent, the need to…

Continue Reading North Carolina Federal District Court Confirms Importance of Alleging Actual Harm in Pleadings

The Ohio 12th District Court of Appeals recently uphelda lower court’s injunction against two former employees and their new employer in light of defendants’ apparent breach of duty of loyalty, misappropriation of trade secrets, and tortious interference with business relations. DK Prods., Inc. v. Miller, Case No. CA2008-05-060, 2009 WL 243089 (Ohio Ct. App. 12 Dist. Feb. 2…

Continue Reading Ohio Appellate Court Upholds Entry of Temporary Injunction

 In RBC Dominion Securities Inc. v. Merrill Lynch Canada Inc., 2008 SCC 54, the Supreme Court of Canada recently addressed a verdict against a group of departing employees by a British Columbia trial court.

RBC operated an office in Cranbrook, British Columbia. In November 2000, almost every employee in the office abruptly resigned and moved to Merrill Lynch.  Don…

Continue Reading Supreme Court of Canada Upholds Verdict Against Employee Defectors

TalentBurst, Inc. v. Collabera, Inc., Civ. No. 08-10940-WGY (D. Mass. July 25, 2008).

A federal court in Boston has dismissed a complaint brought by information technology temp agency TalentBurst against competitor Collabera for aiding and abetting a breach of fiduciary duty by TalentBurst’s former employee, who subsequently joined Collabera, on the ground that the employee owed no fiduciary duty…

Continue Reading Massachusetts Federal Court Dismisses Claim Against New Employer for Aiding and Abetting Employee’s Violation of Fiduciary Duty of Loyalty to Former Employer.