Running head: Greene’s Jewelry Wholesale, LLC vs Jennifer Lawson 1

Running head: Greene’s Jewelry Wholesale, LLC vs Jennifer Lawson 1

Greene’s Jewelry Wholesale, LLC vs Jennifer Lawson 9

Milestone One

MEMORANDUM

In Greene’s Jewelry Wholesale, LLC vs Jennifer Lawson,

Issues Presented

1. Did Greene’s Jewelry Wholesale, LLC wrongfully terminate Jennifer Lawson?

2. Does Greene’s Jewelry Wholesale, LLC have a legitimate case against Jennifer Lawson for Breach of Confidentiality?

Short Answers

1. No, Greene’s Jewelry Wholesale, LLC did not wrongfully terminate Jenifer Lawson. There is no evidence supporting the allegation of unlawful termination.

2. Yes, Greene’s Jewelry Wholesale, LLC has lawfully rights to sue Jennifer Lawson for breach of confidentiality and the company has support evidence to prove the case.

Case Summary

Facts and Laws

Greene’s Jewelry Wholesale, LLC is owned by Mary Jane and Allen Greene. Greene’s Jewelry Wholesale, LLC was established in 1957 as a manufacturing and distribution company for high end costume jewelry. The headquarters for the warehouse and two storefronts are located in Derry, New Hampshire. Greene’s Jewelry Wholesale, LLC primary asset is its process for creating a synthetic gold-colored material called “Ever-Gold”. Ever-Gold is impervious to scratches, discoloration, and oxidization and is marketed as everlasting gold.

Jennifer Lawson has been an employee at Greene’s Jewelry Wholesale, LLC for three years. She only had to signed the confidentiality agreement in her employee contract prior to employment not the covenant not to compete. Ms. Lawson was a junior executive secretary for the research and development department. She finds out that she is pregnant and will need time off due to the result of high-risk factors that she will face during the course of her pregnancy. She is known to be professional, articulate, diligent, and a skilled employee in her role at the company. However, Ms. Lawson has a routinely behavior of tardiness. The company is downsizing and the employees that are in the junior executive secretary positons are no longer needed. Once Ms. Lawson goes to the Head of Human Resources to request additional time off she learns the news that the company is no longer in need of the services of any of the junior executive secretaries. Human Resources congratulated her but a decision had to be made from a business stand point with positions. Once Ms. Lawson is informed of the downsizing of the company she packs her personal items and work related projects and leaves.

She has a letter that has prominent details of the secret of creating Ever-Gold. As stated above, Ms. Lawson only had to sign the confidentiality agreement. Shortly after leaving Greene’s Jewelry Wholesale, LLC she seeks for employment at another jewelry company, Howell Jewelry World. Howell Jewelry World is one of the jewelry competitor companies within in thee area to Greene’s Wholesale Jewelry, LLC. Ms. Lawson discloses confidential information regarding the secret process of making jewelry to Howell Jewelry company. She gets the job at Howell Jewelry World, but after one week of employment she is fired because of chronic tardiness.

The first argument on this case is Greene’s Jewelry Wholesale, LLC sues Jennifer Lawson for Breach of Confidentiality Agreement.

The confidentially agreement included not disclosing any information on the company’s trade secret. She signed the confidentiality agreement prior to employment at the company. She did not sign the covenant not to compete so there is no claim on her for working at Howell Jewelry World.

The second argument on this case is Ms. Lawson is making an accusation of unlawful termination due to her being pregnant. The fact of that case is false. The timing of when Ms. Lawson was informed that the company was downsizing and removing all junior executive secretary was simultaneous with her finding out she was pregnant.

Discussion

Precedent: Breach of Confidentiality Agreement

“Employers benefit from confidentiality agreements because they keep these parties from sharing proprietary knowledge, trade secrets, client or product information, strategic plans, and other information that is confidential and proprietary to the company with competitors. Confidentiality agreements state that the signer cannot disclose or in any way profit from company confidential information supplied by their employer, customer, suppliers, and any other party that may benefit from shared confidential information.”

Greene’s Jewelry Wholesale, LLC gave their employee Jennifer Lawson a unilateral Non-Disclosure Agreement prior to beginning work at their establishment. Non-Disclosure Agreement are used to protect a company’s proprietary information. After reviewing Jennifer Lawson’s Non-disclosure agreement, it states that at no point can Jennifer Lawson divulge any confidential information contained in the Non-Disclosure agreement. Ms. Lawson signed the Non-disclosure agreement that states that she never to disclose any information, such as, trade secrets that she might acquire from Greene’s Jewelry Wholesale, LLC regarding the process to create Ever-Gold.

Out of spite Ms. Lawson intentionally disclose confidential information about the process behind Ever Gold to Howell Jewelry World. This is a known fact because the agreement between Howell Jewelry World and Ms. Lawson was for her to disclose the information and she will get the job at their company. “New Hampshire is one of the many states that have adopted the Uniform Trade Secrets Act (UTSA). New Hampshire’s trade secret law can be found at N.H. R.S.A. Secs. 350-B:1 et seq. New Hampshire’s statute defines trade secrets as “information, including a formula, pattern, compilation, program, device, method, technique, or process, that: (a) Derives independent economic value, actual or potential, from not being generally known to, and not being readily ascertainable by proper means by, other persons who can obtain economic value from its disclosure or use; and (b) Is the subject of efforts that are reasonable under the circumstances to maintain its secrecy. New Hampshire’s version of the UTSA refers to the theft of trade secrets as misappropriation. Under New Hampshire law, “misappropriation” means the acquisition of a trade secret by someone who knows or has reason to know that the trade secret was acquired by improper means, such as theft, bribery, misrepresentation, or breach of or inducement of a breach of duty to maintain secrecy. It also includes the disclosure or use of a trade secret without consent by someone who used improper means to acquire knowledge of the trade secret, for example, an ex-employee who gives company secrets to a rival.” (New Hampshire Trade Secret Law)

In Orthofix, Inc. v. Hunter, 630 Fed. Appx. 566 (6th Cir. 2015it is a similar case to Greene’s Jewelry World vs Jennifer Lawson on misappropriation of trade secrets. “ In Orthofix, Inc. v. Hunter, 630 Fed. Appx. 566 (6th Cir. 2015), the plaintiff filed suit against the defendant for the misappropriation of the plaintiff’s trade secrets and the use and disclosure of “confidential information” covered by the non-disclosure provision in the defendant’s employment agreement. The defendant had left the plaintiff for a competitor and immediately started selling to former customers the same medical device made by the defendant’s new employer. The district court held that the defendant was not liable because (1) the plaintiff did not protect its trade secrets with measures “that are reasonable under the circumstances”; and (2) the non-disclosure provision in the defendant’s employment agreement prohibited the defendant from using his general skills and knowledge and, therefore, formed an unenforceable non-compete agreement. The court concluded that the defendant had breached the parties’ nondisclosure agreement by providing the plaintiff’s confidential information to his new employer.”  (Non-disclosure Agreements – Federal Caselaw)

Precedent: Employment Changes

Jennifer Lawson is counter suing Greene’s Jewelry Wholesale, LLC for wrongful termination. There is no evidence for a claim on wrongful terminating Ms. Lawson. This accusation aspired because she was let go from the company the same time she was requesting time off from being pregnant. The company letting Ms. Lawson go had absolutely nothing to do with her being pregnant.

The case Kimberly Miles vs Dell Corp is similar to the Greene vs Lawson case. Miles vs Dell supports the Plaintiff which would be Greene’s Wholesale Jewelry. The case states “Plaintiff-appellant Kimberly Miles, a former account manager at Dell, Inc., sued Dell for sex discrimination, pregnancy discrimination, and retaliation under Title VII. The district court granted Dell’s motion for summary judgment as to all three claims, concluding that, under governing circuit precedent, Miles failed to make out a prima facie case of sex or pregnancy discrimination because she was replaced by another female, and that Miles failed to exhaust her administrative remedies with respect to her retaliation claim because she did not allege retaliation in the charge she filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Because the district court did not consider whether Miles’ case falls within the different-decision maker exception to the fourth prong of the Title VII prima facie case that we recognize today, we vacate the grant of summary judgment with respect to Miles’ sex and pregnancy discrimination claims.” (Miles vs Dell) Ms. Lawson was not the only person from her department to lose employment but everyone in that position had to go. The company was downsizing and it just happened to but the department Ms. Lawson was in was the department that was being removed.

Facts to Be Determined

A discovery need to performed to see is there any evidence on, what was Jennifer Lawson primary purpose to breach her confidentiality agreement that she had with Greene’s Jewelry Wholesale, LLC. Did Jennifer Lawson give the entire secret process to Howell Jewelry or partial points?

Is there a reason why Howell Jewelry World tweaked the secret process of the Ever Gold? What is the primary reason of why Jennifer Lawson allegedly thinks she was wrongful terminated? Are there any more projects that Ms. Lawson was working on her possession? Knowing the answers to those questions will give me more information on the case. This will inform me if additional charges should be brought to this case. This secret process is a trade secret for Greene’s Jewelry Wholesale, LLC and by legal rights this information should have never been breached and a guilty disposition and if any company makes sales products using this trade secret restitution should be paid.

References

Heathfield, S. M. (n.d.). What Is a Confidentiality Agreement as It Relates to Employment? Retrieved January 4, 2019, from https://www.thebalancecareers.com/confidentiality-agreement-1918086

Nguyen, H., & Rathke, S. (2016, December 21). Non-disclosure Agreements – Federal Caselaw. Retrieved January 6, 2019, from https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=e34b029d-1e67-42c0-9407-abf4a98f0182

Stim, R. (2016, December 15). New Hampshire Trade Secret Law. Retrieved January 6, 2019, from https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/new-hampshire-trade-secret-law.html

United States Court of Appeals, & Fourth Circuit. (2005, November 22). Kimberly MILES, v. DELL, INCORPORATED. Retrieved January 6, 2019, from https://openjurist.org/429/f3d/480/miles-v-dell-incorporated