Dur-A-Flex, Inc. v. Dy

Citations

• 349 Conn. 612

Syllabus

The plaintiff, which develops, manufactures and sells resinous flooring sys- tems, sought to recover damages from the defendant S, a former employee, for breach of a noncompete agreement, breach of the common-law duty of confidentiality, and violations of the Connecticut Uniform Trade Secrets Act (CUTSA) (§ 35-50 et seq.), in connection with S's alleged misappropriation of the plaintiff's trade secrets. Several years after hiring S as a chemist, the plaintiff required him to sign a noncompete agreement as a condition of his continued employment. Although S signed the noncompete agreement, he then established his own floor coating busi- ness and resigned from his employment with the plaintiff. S then used the plaintiff's formulas and research to develop his own competing floor coating product, and he assisted several firms, including the plaintiff's competitors, in developing their own products. Thereafter, the plaintiff brought two separate actions against S, including the present one. The plaintiff asserted similar claims in both actions. The trial court in the separate action determined that the noncompete agreement was unen- forceable because there was no consideration and that the claim alleging S's breach of the common-law duty of confidentiality was preempted by CUTSA. The court in the separate action also found that a payment that the plaintiff made to S after his resignation constituted severance pay rather than compensation for his affirmation of the noncompete agreement. Subsequently, the trial court in the present case, applying principles of collateral estoppel, granted S's motion for summary judg- ment and rendered judgment for S on the ground that further consider- ation of the issues was precluded by the court's rulings in the separate 349 Conn. 612 SEPTEMBER, 2024 613 Dur-A-Flex, Inc. v. Dy action, which involved the same parties and issues. Thereafter, the plaintiff appealed from the trial court's judgment. Held that the trial court improperly grant