Cray Valley Ltd. v. Deltech Europe Ltd.
England and Wales High Court of Justice
[2003] EWHC 728 (Ch) (2003)
- Written by Eric Miller, JD
Facts
Cray Valley Ltd. (Cray) (plaintiff), a resin manufacturer, acquired Borden, another resin company. For a three-month period, Borden wound down production at its facility in Haverhill. Cray was uninterested in buying the Haverhill facility and equipment, which Borden sold to Deltech Europe Ltd. (Deltech) (defendant), the UK arm of a United States corporation. Deltech then took over the site and hired several Borden employees whose jobs did not survive the acquisition by Cray. As the owner of the former Borden business, Cray brought suit against Deltech for breach of confidence, alleging that former Borden employees were using confidential information in the manufacture of resins at Haverhill. At trial, evidence showed that the formulations involved in the manufacture of resins were (1) generally imprecise in application, (2) a matter of common practice for those engaged in the resin industry, (3) already published in the industry’s official guide, and (4) largely remembered by the former Borden employees, whom neither Borden nor Cray had ever asked to sign confidentiality agreements.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Jacob, J.)
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