Ever Gold Legal Memorandum

Legal Memorandum

Memo Introduction:

The plaintiff in this case: Greene’s Jewelry Wholesale is dealing with a fairly direct situation, where they have an employee who is in violation of breach of contract – (confidentiality agreement/contract), the defendant, Ms. Jennifer Lawson and her subsequent employer, Howell Jewelry World. Greene’s Jewelry Wholesale is under protection by the Uniform Trade Secret Act, published by the Uniform Law Commission (ULC) in 1979, (section 350 B1). Though this  violation is pretty much a clear and straightforward violation, the defendant is alleging that Greene’s Jewelry Wholesale is also in violation of unlawful termination, which is protected under the RSA 354-A: 7 which is an essential place to prevent these practices of unlawful discrimination. Given this allegation, this termination was solely the basis of a unfortunate but necessary reduction in the total workforce for Greene’s Jewelry Wholesale.

Facts:

The Plaintiff, Greene’s Jewelry Wholesale, LLC is a jewelry manufacturing and distribution company established in 1957. A primary asset of Greene’s Jewelry Wholesale, LLC, is a confidential process for creating a synthetic gold that they use in the product they manufacture, named ‘Ever-Gold’.

The defendant, Ms. Jennifer Lawson was employed by Greene’s Jewelry Wholesale for three years and had just found out that she is pregnant, and disclosed this new information to Greene Human Resources, Ms. Lisa Peele, specifically, of her newfound pregnancy and put in a request for more time away from work due to her being diagnosed as an at-risk pregnancy by her doctor. In this conversation, Ms. Lawson was told by Ms. Peele of the decision by Greene’s Jewelry Wholesale to let go of all of their Jr. Executive Secretaries, this included Ms. Lawson. Ms. Lawson was informed that this decision was made on the fact that Greene’s Jewelry was downsizing and her position was deemed to no longer be necessary. Upon her leaving the company, Ms. Lawson realized she still had her possession, documents that gave a full description on the manufacturing process of Greene’s Jewelry Wholesale’s ‘Ever-Gold’. Greene’s Jewelry Wholesale requires all employees to sign a confidentiality agreement upon employment within. In this agreement there is plain and specific language stating that any employee is forbidden to disclose any information which references the processes involved in the manufacturing of Ever-Gold. Ms. Lawson was fully aware of this language in the agreements and she was fully and completely aware of this language that she willingly signed. Ms. Lawson in an act of personal gain took this information and disclosed it to Greene’s direct competitor, Howell Jewelry World, in exchange to become employed with Howell.

Howell Jewelry World and Ms. Lawson signed an employment contract with provisions that the documents that detail the processes and methods to produce Ever Gold be given to Howell Jewelry World. Greene’s Jewelry Wholesale gained knowledge of Ms. Lawson’s actions and has filed suit claiming that she breached the confidentiality agreement that was voluntarily agreed to and signed.  

Discussion:

The implicit and purposeful breach of employment contractual agreement made by Ms. Lawson is protected regulated by TITLE XXXI TRADE AND COMMERCE CHAPTER 350-B UNIFORM TRADE SECRETS ACT Section 350-B

 Where the lines of     (b) Disclosure or use of a trade secret of another without express or implied consent by a person who:
          (1) Used improper means to acquire knowledge of the trade secret; or
          (2) At the time of disclosure or use, knew or had reason to know that his knowledge of the trade secret was derived are in direct violation. (NH RSA 350-B).