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PITTSBURGH – In a dispute pitting a Pittsburgh distillery against one of its former executive over access to the company’s Facebook page and website, a state court judge has granted the distillery an injunction ensuring it will recover its proprietary and social media information.
In a complaint filed Feb. 19 in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas, Kingfly Spirits sued Blake Ragghianti, its former head distiller, vice president, secretary and treasurer who holds a 15 percent ownership share.
According to the complaint, Ragghianti’s relationship with Kingfly Spirits dissolved in early February, when he refused to work unless his annual salary jumped to $85,000. Kingfly Spirits President Mark Wilson alleged he accepted Ragghianti’s resignation on Feb. 12.
Two days later, everyone in the company lost access to the Facebook page except Ragghianti, who was the only person with administrator privileges for the social media page. The company website was taken offline the same night, which the company said could only be done by Ragghianti.
Formal complaints include breach of contract, misappropriation of trade secrets, unfair competition, and tortious interference with a business relationship.
The company seeks damages and legal fees, as well as it having sought special and preliminary injunctive relief forcing Ragghianti to produce the requested passwords to the business’s social media page.
In response to the injunction motion, Ragghianti claimed that while Wilson contributed the building and funding to their partnership, he brought the production facility and managed production, federal and state compliance and excise taxes, accounting, sales and the bar – in addition to negotiating a $30,000 claim from CPA Truschak, who ran all accounting and tax aspects of Kingfly Spirits from 2015 to 2019.
“The bar opened in February of 2019. The current breakdown in the relationship occurred when Ragghianti submitted a proposed budget, including an annual salary for him of $85,000, and new legal counsel Mr. Sees failed to provide information to Ragghianti concerning the agreements of the parties dating at least 2015, lack of meetings and corporate formalities, undercapitalization and management dysfunction, including failure to budget and perform tax and accounting functions,” the defendant’s response to the injunction motion stated.
“Wilson’s response to the budget was to lock Ragghianti out of his building and advance false claims that Ragghianti resigned all of his positions and duties. Ragghianti immediately attempted through counsel to schedule a meeting of the principals, which was rebuffed in favor of this litigation.”
On March 11, Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas Judge Christine A. Ward issued a court order granting Kingfly Spirits’ motion for special and preliminary injunctive relief.
Through the granting of the motion, Ragghianti was ordered to return and deliver any confidential, proprietary and trade secret information and provide Kingfly Spirits with an affidavit verifying same; that he would immediately contact Facebook and transfer all administrative privileges to Kingfly Spirits’ social media account; that he would be prohibited from using any of the business’s accounts, including bank accounts, until further notice; that any mediation which takes place will have the costs shared by both parties and that the business would arrange a date and time for Ragghianti to reclaim his personal property still on site.
The plaintiff is represented by Brian Must of Metz Lewis Brodman Must O’Keefe, in Pittsburgh.
The defendant is represented by David S. Klett of Klett & Associates, also in Pittsburgh.
Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas case GD-20-002719
From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nick.malfitano@therecordinc.com