Gary Van Zeeland Talent, Inc., Appellant, v. Sandas, Respondent, 84 Wis. 2d 202

Summary

Plaintiff, a talent booking agency, brought an action against defendant, its former employee, alleging that defendant, through the use of private, secret, and confidential customer lists, compilations, and information interfered with plaintiff's business and had continuously solicited, invited, and urged plaintiff's customers to cease doing business with plaintiff and to become his customers. Plaintiff appealed a decision granting summary judgment in favor of defendant. After considering a number of factors, the court determined that the customer list did not constitute a trade secret. Further, the court held that estoppel was not appropriate in a restraint of trade action and that any restrictive covenant imposing an unreasonable restraint was illegal, void, and unenforceable. Finally, the court found that the misappropriation doctrine was not applicable to the taking of customer lists.