Summary 2006 WY 16

Summary of Decision issued January 26, 2006

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Case Name: Briefing.com v. Jones

Citation: 2006 WY 16

Docket Number: 04-196

Certified Questions from the United States District Court for the District of Wyoming, The Honorable William F. Downes, Judge.

Representing Appellants (Plaintiffs): Thomas A. Nicholas, III and Robert C. Jarosh of Hirst & Applegate, Cheyenne, Wyoming; and Paul E. Chronis and Melissa Eckhause of McDermott, Will & Emery, Chicago, Illinois.

Representing Appellees (Defendants): William P. Schwartz, William B. Campbell, and Janet Lewis of Ranck & Schwartz, LLC, Jackson, Wyoming.

Date of Decision: January 26, 2006

Certified Questions: (1) Would the Wyoming Supreme Court adopt a common-law cause of action for misappropriation of trade secrets and/or confidential information when former employees of a company are alleged to have misappropriated their former employer’s trade secrets and/or confidential information to start a competing business? (2) If the answer to question number 1 is yes, what are the elements of the cause of action?

Discussion: The certifying order from the United States District court for the District of Wyoming provided a statement of Alleged Facts Relevant to Certified Questions as well as the Nature of the Controversy in Which the Questions Arose.
Misuse or misappropriation of a trade secret as a tort was part of the common law adopted by the Wyoming legislature as the “rule of decision” for the State. The numerous statutes in Wyoming recognizing the confidentiality of trade secrets in particular contexts reveal the legislature’s commitment to trade secret protection, yet they do not constitute such a “covering of the whole field” as to evidence legislative intent to abrogate the common law rule. As Wyoming has advanced into the modern commercial world along with the rest of the United States, its people have the same need for trade secret protection as do the rest of the people of the country. Consequently, the Court had no hesitation in declaring that the tort of misuse or misappropriation of trade secrets is part of the law of the jurisdiction. The Court adopted the cause of action as it appears on Restatement (Third) of Unfair Competition because it represents the common law cause of action in its modern and most appropriate version.

Answers to Certified Questions: (1) The common law cause of action for misappropriation of trade secrets and/or confidential information when former employees of a company are alleged to have misappropriated their former employer’s trade secrets and/or confidential information to start a competing business is part of the common law in the State of Wyoming. (2) The elements of the cause of action are those contained in Restatement (Third) of Unfair Competition (1995), §§ 39 through 45.

Dissent: C.J. Hill and J. Golden would have referred the responsibility for answering the certified questions to the legislature. They expressed concern about adopting the Restatement (Third) of Unfair Competition as the vehicle for filling the gap for not having given recognition to a civil remedy to protect trade secrets. The Justices stated that the majority of jurisdictions now use UTSA or other legislative enactments to govern the area of law.

J. Voigt delivered the opinion for the court.
C.J. Hill dissenting, joined by J. Golden.

Link to the case: http://tinyurl.com/czjes .