Claims: Northwest alleged breach of contract, duty of care, fiduciary duty, and confidence by Wellington and Dee, claiming they improperly competed and used Northwest’s confidential information.
Counterclaims: Wellington and Protocol7even claimed wrongful involuntary layoff (constructive dismissal) and interference with economic relations by Northwest.
Key Findings and Rulings:
On Fiduciary Duty and Confidential Information:
Wellington and Dee were not considered fiduciaries of Northwest and did not have access to confidential information to compete against Northwest or for personal benefit.
On Competing and Working for Competitors:
It was found that Wellington and Dee did not wrongfully work for Northwest’s competitors, and there was no prohibition against doing so under the Private Security and Investigative Services Act.
On Damages:
Northwest failed to substantiate its claim for damages, providing no expert report, damages brief, or particulars supporting its claim.
On Constructive Dismissal Counterclaim:
Even if Wellington was constructively dismissed, he did not demonstrate any damages suffered as he started working for Viking soon after the layoff.
On Interference with Economic Relations Counterclaim:
The counterclaim for interference with economic relations was dismissed due to lack of evidence on the actionable wrong against Fan Expo by Northwest.
Conclusion:
Both the claim and the counterclaim were dismissed. The court encouraged parties to agree on costs; otherwise, they were instructed to provide costs submissions.
Costs:
The parties were encouraged to reach an agreement on costs related to the trial. If unable to agree, detailed submissions were to be provided for the court's consideration.
