Customer contact info may be trade secret, Georgia federal court rules

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia recently decided a case involving trade secrets and restrictive covenants after a former employee took a customer contact list with him when he left to work with a competitor. The court’s ruling serves as an important reminder for employers.

Facts

Tanium, a cybersecurity management company, employed Max Yago as a salesperson, ultimately responsible for servicing the firm’s largest customers. The employer had him sign an employee invention assignment and confidentiality agreement that restrained him from soliciting its customers and employees or using or disclosing any confidential information.

In January 2021, Yago accepted a job offer from Wiz, a Tanium competitor. At or about the same time, Wiz hired four other high-level Tanium employees.

Tanium discovered that, while employed, Yago had accessed and run a report aggregating some 60,000 customer contacts and sent it to at least one of the other employees whom Wiz also hired. He also had text contact with at least one of the other employees in which they discussed whether they could “get . . . over” the other individuals who also were hired.

As a result, Tanium sought a preliminary injunction against the departed employees and Wiz under, among other theories, a violation of the agreement as well as the Georgia Trade Secrets Act.

Court’s decision