Need advice

[y26]

I going to speak a bit vague here but hopefully you will get the point.

I know someone who recently left company (A) on good terms. This person was contacted by an old co worker who has started there own business say company (B) and is looking for information about company (A) vendors, You see this old worker knows some big vendors from (A) and company (B) wants to know them and has said they will repay in monetary value. I'm talking if (B) was to take this vendor from (A) then they would be making millions.

Is it wrong for this person to release this Information??

Is there any legal ramifications that could happen??

I know when people leave a company they sometimes take there clients with them but this is a major vendor for this company.

I'm guessing if this information was given then company (A) will sue this person because they did it knowing it will hurt them..

What do you think??

Thanks

 

[crownvic96]

well a lot of it depends on if any type of nondisclosure agreements or what not were signed by the employee before he left the first company.

other than that, i don't think anything is wrong. if the new company(b) is offering a product or service that is competing with the other company(a) the vendor will choose which one or both is right for them to go with. there is nothing wrong with soliciting those vendors to try and win their buisness.

 

[The Blob]

Originally posted by y26

I'm guessing if this information was given then company (A) will sue this person because they did it knowing it will hurt them..

And, even if the ruling goes in A's favor, he will have spent a bunch of money on legal fees.

To point out the obvious - If you (meaning any person) are contemplating doing something you guess is going to get you sued... don't do it.

 

[BlownZ]

open and shut...without a non compete agreement their is nothing stopping him from doing it. Even WITH a non compete...in your example it doesnt sound like the guy is going to be an employee of company b...just rather a consultant of some sort.

 

[Buick From Hell]

The key phrase:
"looking for information about company (A) vendors"
---

There's wanting to know WHO IS a vendor--
There's wanting to know ABOUT a vendor--

"Who Is" information is fair game. Basically like looking in a phone book...

But information ABOUT a vendor will be twisted by a good lawyer into 'industrial espionage'.

Somewhere on virtually every blueprint, purchase order or any other contractural agreement between a purchaser and a vendor is a 'cofidentiality agreement'. I believe it's very similar to a lawyer/client relationship, in that it's never ending; just because you're no longer employed by a certain company, you're still bound by law NOT to reveal known company secrets...

Ergo- If person from company (A) gives out ANY info about (A)'s vendors to company (B) OTHER than merely the vendor's name, he is asking for trouble... (imho)

 

[2quiktocare]

Follow your morals and ethics and let your buddy get his own list from your former company. The former co worker should have had the ability to gain the list himself. Why would he want you to grab the info for him?

 

[2QUIK6]

Owning a consulting firm myself, we have been there done that several times and been on both sides of the equation.
If you signed a "non-compete" agreement with (A) then they can sue you for releasing any type of information to their competitors no matter what position / relation you have with (B), even if you receive nothing monetarily. We have consultant who have worked for our firm in the past and have left and did get work from our Customers...just because they did the work they think it is their Customer but it is not...and we have sucessfully sued in those cases and won. The fact at hand that wins the case is "Would the ex-consultant have known about Customer x if he had not worked for our company?" If the answer is NO, then its a clear case that the ex-employee/consult is wrong.
So, if you would have know about Company (A)'s dealing and their customers without having been an employee of (A) then your ok..if not, then its wrong if you signed a non-compete.
In the case sited above, our ex-consultant signed a non-compete, its a requirment for doing business/working for us.

 

[DCEPTCN]

The most prominent question in my mind is: Is company A a monstrous, faceless corporation or a smaller, family-type mom-and-pop-shop? I think that if the answer is the latter, no information should be shared. Capitalism is a vicous foodchain and needs to be in order to be efficient....but knowingly taking food off of a small business owner's table is nothing that I would want to be responsible for.

 

[JoeNational]

If I understand the question correctly it seems that both the guy who left "A" and the guy who owns "B" both worked for company "A" at one time, is that correct?

If both guys have signed a disclosure form upon employement or resignation from "A" then neither one can use information they have gained from "A". if they did not sign that form then they can use the information learned from "A" for "B" with no problems. Small company or not it is the way the world goes.