Mikesell

This dispute between a former employee and his former employer raises issues concerning the Uniform Trade Secrets Act (UTSA) (Civ. Code, § 3426 et seq.). We conclude the UTSA was improperly applied here and reverse the judgment in part.

Facts

Robert L. Cloud & Associates, Inc. (RLCA), is an engineering firm specializing in “pressure vessel” consulting. In 1986, when plaintiff Walter R. Mikesell, Jr., joined RLCA, the firm specialized in assessing the structural adequacy of nuclear power plants. After Mikesell was hired the firm took advantage of his contacts with Chevron, Exxon and other local refineries and branched out to work in the “process industry.”

Two years after joining RLCA, Mikesell signed a confidentiality agreement whereby he agreed not to disclose certain information including, among other things, technological information, customer identities and client strategies. The agreement required Mikesell, among other things, to keep confidential and not make use of “Confidential Information” of RLCA or its clients. “Confidential Information” was defined in the contract to include “any and all information concerning teaching techniques, processes, formulas, trade…