BCLP secures preliminary injunction in trade secret misappropriation case against former officers

Following a three-day evidentiary hearing before the Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on Tuesday, October 22, BCLP successfully secured a preliminary injunction for its client, My Fav Electronics, Inc. d/b/a Second Life Mac ("SLM"). The injunction was against two former officers, Paula B. Currie and Megan Finnegan-Ratliff, who departed the company to join a significant competitor.

SLM, a company that buys back and resells Apple devices, hired Currie and Finnegan-Ratliff to work in its procurement division. As SLM officers, Currie and Finnegan-Ratliff signed employment contracts with specific confidentiality clauses.  

After Currie and Finnegan-Ratliff resigned, SLM uncovered that the officers had stolen almost all of its confidential and trade secret information, including client lists, strategic plans, and budgeting details and had passed some of that information to their new employer, a competitor. SLM took legal action against the officers for misappropriating trade secrets, violating their employment contracts, breaching their fiduciary duties and other related claims. It sought a preliminary injunction to stop the officers from working for the competitor, approaching SLM's clients and referral sources and using or revealing SLM's confidential and trade secret information.

The court granted almost all of the relief sought by SLM, holding that SLM had established:

1. A strong likelihood of success on the merits as to its trade secret misappropriation claims under the U.S. Defend Trade Secrets Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1986, et seq., and the Illinois Trade Secrets Act, 765 ILCS 1065/1, et seq. (under both its "actual misappropriation" and "inevitable disclosure" theories);
2. A strong likelihood of success on its breach of contract claims;
3. A strong likelihood of irreparable harm to SLM if further injunctive relief was not granted; and
4. "Significant questions" about one of the officer's credibility.

The BCLP team was headed by Partner Bill Wortel and Associate Kaitlin DeWulf, with significant support from Partner Jason Meyer and Associate Zeke Katz. Partner John Goebel manages the client relationship.