Miller v. Hehlen
Arizona Court of Appeals
209 Ariz. 462, 104 P.3d 193 (2005)
- Written by Sharon Feldman, JD
Facts
Margaret Miller (plaintiff) operated an income-tax-preparation business under an H & R Block franchise. Miller employed William Hehlen (defendant) as a tax-return preparer at the beginning of each tax season. Hehlen maintained on his home computer a customer list he created from Miller’s customer-data sheets. Miller’s H & R Block franchise was terminated in 2001. Miller told Hehlen not to take customer-data sheets home, and Hehlen began secretly writing down customer names and adding them to the list on his home computer. After Hehlen’s employment with Miller ended, Miller and Hehlen had a pay dispute, and Miller gave Hehlen substantially the same customer list he had compiled. Hehlen went to another H & R Block office and began contacting the customers on the list. Miller became aware of the calls, sent Hehlen a cease-and-desist letter, and sued Hehlen for conversion and other torts. The trial court granted summary judgment to Hehlen. Miller appealed, arguing that the evidence supported her claim that Hehlen converted her customer list by taking customer information and interfering with Miller’s relationships with customers.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Pelander, C.J.)
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