Verizon Communications Inc. v. Pizzirani

Verizon Communications Inc. (Verizon) (plaintiff) and Comcast Cable Communications, Inc. (Comcast) were competitors in providing internet services. The companies overlapped in many service areas in various geographical regions of the United States, such as New England. Christopher Pizzirani (defendant) worked for Verizon and, after 16 years of employment, achieved a highly compensated, executive-level position in which he was responsible for Verizon’s broadband products nationwide. Pizzirani possessed Verizon’s five-year revenue forecasts and the strategic plan for the company’s broadband product line. Both Verizon and Comcast were developing new broadband products, and Verizon’s deployment of a fiber-optic network would be crucial to its success. Verizon’s deployment plan was highly sensitive information. In the last few years of his Verizon employment, Pizzirani was entitled to receive grants of certain stock if he agreed with certain terms (award agreements). The award agreements included a 12-month noncompetition restrictive covenant that barred an employee from working for any company that engaged in “competitive activities” in the same type of products or services. Competitive activities were limited to products that were marketed in geographic areas that overlapped with those in which Verizon offered products and services. Pizzirani was given multiple email notifications of the award agreements, which advised him to read and understand the agreement terms. Pizzirani was also required to and did repeatedly electronically indicate that he understood and agreed to the terms. Thereafter, Pizzirani obtained employment with Comcast in a position that reported to Mitch Bowling, the general manager of Comcast’s online services. Verizon sued Pizzirani and filed a motion for a preliminary injunction to stop Pizzirani from working for Comcast.