The U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals (which covers Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia) recently issued a published decision on an employer’s second appeal of a judgment in favor of its former employee on claims of breaching an employment agreement and misappropriating trade secrets under the Maryland Uniform Trade Secrets Act (MUTSA). The court’s ruling offers insights on correctly drafting employment contracts.
Facts
Accounting software company AirFacts, Inc., hired Diego de Amezaga in 2008 and eventually promoted him to director of product development. His duties included handling client relationships as well as developing new products. At the start, he signed an employment agreement including an acknowledgement that he would return all documents containing confidential information and was barred from disclosing them.
