Motorola, Inc. v. Fairchild Camera & Instrument Corp

In Motorola, Inc. v. Fairchild Camera & Instrument Corp., 366 F. Supp. 1173 (D. Ariz. 1973), the individual defendants terminated their employment and joined a competitor of their former employer. 366 F. Supp. at 1177-78. Prior to resigning, one of the individual defendants, Hogan, discussed with co-employees his plan to leave, "seeking their advice." Id. at 1177. Hogan "refused to discuss employment with any of them but did give them, at their request," contact information for the company he was to join. Id. Hogan also gave the new company the names of the employees who had asked for contact information. Id. On their own, some of those employees contacted the competing company, applied "and negotiated their own deal for compensation." Id. at 1177-78. Hogan's former employer alleged that he and the other employees breached their fiduciary duty by "leaving as a 'group'" to join the other company. Id. at 1181. After an eight-week trial, the court entered judgment for the defendants, finding no breach of fiduciary duty. Id. at 1182-83.