California Ban on Mandatory Arbitration Permitted by Ninth Circuit

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In a 2-1 decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently reversed a district court’s order enjoining the enforcement of California Assembly Bill 51 (“AB51”), which is codified as Labor Code section 432.6. The statute prohibits requiring arbitration of California Fair Employment and Housing Act (“FEHA”) and Labor Code claims as a …Read more

Ecolab Sues Former Employee For Allegedly Stealing Trade Secrets

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In another high profile trade secret case, water treatment giant Ecolab, Inc. sued one of its former marketing managers, Preston Alexander, and his new company, One Degree Medical, alleging they stole trade secrets to set up a competing business in violation of both the employees’ employment agreement, and state and federal trade secrets laws. EcoLab’s …Read more

Courts Differ on Where Website Operators are Subject to Personal Jurisdiction

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Courts are increasingly being asked to decide when website operators are subject to personal jurisdiction in a particular state, a potentially vexing problem because websites generally lack a specific location and can be accessed from almost anywhere on the globe. In June 2020, the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, in UMG Recordings, Inc. v. …Read more

Delaware Court Rules that Stockholder Right to Inspect Books is a Matter of “Internal Affairs”

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On August 13, 2020, the Delaware Court of Chancery issued an opinion in JUUL Labs, Inc. v. Grove, holding that a stockholder could not use Section 1601 of the California Corporations Code to inspect the books and records of a Delaware corporation because the “internal affairs doctrine” dictated that Delaware law must apply. The case arose when Daniel …Read more

What to Do When an Employee Steals Company Trade Secrets

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If an employee of your company stole an item of tangible company property when he left to start another job – like a car, or computer, or airplane – would you just let it go? Of course not. Yet, studies show that 50 percent of departing employees take confidential business information from their employer before …Read more

How to Decide if You Should File a Lawsuit Against Your Former Employee for Trade Secret Theft

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Now that you know with certainty that a former employee has left your company for a competitor, and in the process, has stolen your company’s valuable trade secrets, you need to decide whether to file a lawsuit to recapture the stolen intellectual property and recover your damages from him and any other individual(s) involved. The …Read more

How Not to Protect Your Company’s Valuable Trade Secrets

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A federal district court in Illinois recently reminded all of us of how important it is to take the necessary steps to protect the proprietary information that you consider to be a trade secret before any misappropriation occurs. If you do so after the fact you may lose your ability to enjoin the thieves from …Read more

When Your Start-Up Just Doesn’t Take Off

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All technology companies and their investors start with great enthusiasm.  Why else would you start a tech company?  But in the life cycle of some companies, the enthusiasm – and the money –  disappears before the company has achieved its goals and positioned itself for an attractive sale or IPO.  In these instances, as the …Read more

Beware of Successor Liability in Connection with Family Owned Business

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A corporation ordinarily is not liable for the debts of other entities or its owners in the absence of an express agreement, such as a guarantee. However, a creditor of one company may try to impose liability on one or more non-debtor entities under “alter ego” or “successor liability” theories in certain circumstances. In these …Read more

How to Select a Trial Attorney for Your Bay Area Business

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Working with a reputable law firm to assist you in drafting and negotiating agreements for sales, real estate transactions, employment agreements, and intellectual property licenses, has never been more essential to the success of your business. The attorney you choose should be focused on preventing problems and helping you navigate your company through a challenging …Read more