Meek
Hawaii Management Alliance Ass'n v. Meek
Opinion
Lead Opinion
MEMORANDUM ***
Appellants, Hawaii Management Alliance Association (“HMAA”), a group of insurance companies doing business in Hawaii, appeal the district court’s award of attorney’s fees to appellee, Todd Meek. We affirm. Because the parties are familiar with the factual and procedural history of this case, we will not recount it here.
The district court did not err when it awarded attorney’s fees to Meek pursuant to the 1996 Confidentiality Agreement. Although HMAA did not mention the 1996 agreement in its amended complaints, the categories of information it sought to protect through those complaints were substantially similar to the information protected by the 1996 agreement. Further, the language of the 1996 agreement is broad, both in its statement that the “Agreement is intended for the protection of employer’s confidential information and trade secrets” and its provision that “[t]he prevailing party in any legal action or proceeding arising out of this Agreement shall be entitled to recover from the other, reasonable attorney’s fees and cost of suit affixed by the court.” The agreement does not limit the recovery of fees to cases for breach of the agreement.