The plaintiff catering company sued its former executive chef and a daycare customer after the chef resigned to work directly for the daycare, moving its meal program onsite.
The plaintiff alleged the chef misappropriated confidential information, including menus and pricing, and breached non-competition and non-solicitation clauses.
The plaintiff also alleged the defendants intentionally destroyed electronic evidence.
The Superior Court of Justice dismissed the action in its entirety.
The court found the menus and processes were not confidential, the restrictive covenants were overly broad and unenforceable, the employee was not a fiduciary, and the defendants did not engage in spoliation of evidence.
The court also gave no weight to the plaintiff's electronic evidence due to a lack of forensic preservation.