UNFAIR AND DECEPTIVE TRADE PRACTICES CLAIM FAILS IN PARTNERSHIP DISPUTE EVEN...
In a split decision last month, the North Carolina Supreme Court held that a claim under North Carolina’s unfair and deceptive trade practices act, N.C.G.S. 75-1.1 (the “Act”) could not stand, even...
View ArticleTRADE SECRET THEFT CLAIM DOES NOT REQUIRE DIRECT PROOF OF ACTUAL...
A recent decision by the North Carolina Court of Appeals (Armacell LLC v. Jeffrey Bostic, et al., No. COA09-1160 (July 20, 2010)) reminds us that under the North Carolina Trade Secrets Protection Act,...
View ArticleFOURTH CIRCUIT REVIVES TRADE SECRET CLAIM BASED ON SOFTWARE COMPILATION
In an unpublished opinion from earlier this month, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals found sufficient evidence presented at the trial court level to support the plaintiff’s claim that its software...
View ArticleNORTH CAROLINA COURT REFUSES TO EXTEND NON-COMPETE TO NON-SIGNATORY, PUTATIVE...
Rejecting a novel attempt to extend the reach of a non-compete agreement to the putative owner of a business who had not personally signed that non-compete, the North Carolina Court of Appeals in...
View ArticleTRADE SECRET MISAPPROPRIATION CLAIMS UNDER ATTACK IN NORTH CAROLINA?
A recent decision by the North Carolina Business Court raises a significant question of whether a plaintiff can effectively plead a trade secret claim without disclosing its trade secret in the...
View ArticleThe Sum is Greater Than the Parts: South Carolina Court Finds Compilation of...
In a recent decision by the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina, UHLIG LLC v. Shirley et al, (D.S.C. July 17, 2012), the District Court reaffirmed that a “compilation of...
View ArticlePUBLIC POLICY TRUMPS NON-COMPETE IN NORTH CAROLINA
In many states, non-compete agreements are viewed by the courts with some amount of forgiveness for overbreadth. In those states, courts can in some circumstances re-write an otherwise offensive...
View ArticleTRADE SECRETS CLAIM DISMISSED FOR FAILURE TO PLEAD “REASONABLE MEASURES” ELEMENT
Recently, many of the battles in trade secret litigation in North Carolina have been fought over whether the trade secrets have been alleged with enough specificity to survive a motion to dismiss....
View ArticleNORTH CAROLINA COURT OF APPEALS PRODS SUPREME COURT TO UPDATE ANALYSIS ON...
The executive and legislative branches in North Carolina have made efforts recently to encourage the relocation and expansion of businesses in the State in a continuing quest to make North Carolina...
View ArticleHAS THE “INEVITABLE DISCLOSURE” DOCTRINE FOUND A FOOTHOLD IN NORTH CAROLINA?
Twenty years ago, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in PepsiCo, Inc. v. Redmond, 54 F.3d 1262 (7th Cir. 1995) advanced the “inevitable disclosure” doctrine in trade secret misappropriation cases....
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