PHILADELPHIA — A risk management company is suing a former employee for alleged violations of the Pennsylvania Uniform Trade Secrets Act.
First Niagara Risk Management Inc. (FNRM) filed a lawsuit on April 14 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania against John A. Folino, citing breach of contract and duty, and violation of the Pennsylvania Uniform Trade Secrets Act (PUTSA).
According to the complaint, FNRM develops and provides insurance programs to business customers and conducts risk analysis to obtain cost savings for its customers. As of 2012, Folino was allegedly the major shareholder in two insurance businesses; and on Aug. 1, 2010, the plaintiff and Folino entered into an asset purchase agreement for a three-year term, after which the defendant continued to work for the plaintiff.
In 2014, the plaintiff claims that Folino assisted in recruiting an experienced executive, eventually culminating to a new business venture on Oct. 19, 2015. The plaintiff avers that the defendant worked secretly with the new executive in violation of the PUTSA for their own business interest and monetary gain, still remaining employed by the plaintiff.
FNRM seeks an injunction ordering the defendant not to solicit or influence any of the plaintiff’s employees until April 14, 2017; an injunction ordering the defendant to refrain from concealing or destroying any pertinent information; compensatory, liquidated, punitive statutory, and exemplary damages; and attorneys’ fees. It is represented by Kelly Dobbs Bunting and Robert M. Goldich of Greenberg Traurig LLP, in Philadelphia.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania Case number 2:16-cv-01779-SD