Sigma Chemical Co. v. Harris
United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
794 F.2d 371 (1986)
- Written by Sean Carroll, JD
Facts
Prior to beginning work for Sigma Chemical Co. (Sigma) (plaintiff), Foster Harris (defendant) signed an agreement that he would not work for a competitor for two years after leaving Sigma and would not disclose any trade secrets acquired from Sigma. While still working for Sigma, Harris accepted a position with one of Sigma’s top competitors. Harris also divulged confidential chemical information to the competitor after his resignation from Sigma. Sigma sought an injunction against Harris prohibiting him from working at his new place of employment. The district court granted the injunction, finding that former employees were prohibited from disclosing a company’s trade secrets forever. Harris appealed, arguing that the prohibition on disclosing trade secrets in his agreement, which did not have a time limit, was impermissibly broad as to duration.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (McMillan, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,500 briefs, keyed to 994 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.
