Connecticut Business Litigation Blog : Connecticut Business Lawyer & Attorney : N. Kane Bennett : Aeton Law Partners LLP : Hartford, Middletown, Glastonbury

Here is a quick summary of another of the so called "business torts" in Connecticut known as breach of fiduciary duty.  A fiduciary duty can arise in a number of contexts in business including relationships with partners, lawyers, accountants, trustees, investment advisers, brokers and employees.  When one party in a relationship is a fiduciary, it requires the party to act with the utmost good faith, fair dealing and loyalty. 

Many times, breach of fiduciary lawsuits are filed in Connecticut when the relationship breaks down over lost or mismanaged money.  Frequently, business partners are also found to be fiduciaries with respect to each other.  A fiduciary relationship may be formed when the following factors exist:

• unique degree of trust and confidence between the parties
• one party has superior knowledge and skill
• the party with superior knowledge has a duty to represent the interests of the other part

Connecticut's common law on breach of fiduciary duty law is flexible in that it will not exclude new situations, but is also clear that not all business relationships are fiduciary relationships. For example, courts will not recognize a fiduciary relationship for parties that are dealing at arm's length for transactions.  This is because the relationship lacks a dominance by one party or dependence by the other, or the lack of a special relationship.

The legal recognition of a fiduciary relationship is very significant in a lawsuit in Connecticut.  If a plaintiff proves that a fiduciary relationship exists, the standard and burden of proof changes.  A plaintiff has to prove that a fiduciary duty exists by a preponderance of the evidence. Once established, the burden shifts to the fiduciary as a defendant to prove good faith and fair dealing.  Further, the fiduciary must prove good faith by clear and convincing evidence.

Because of the burden shifting and higher standard, fiduciary cases are often won or lost on the legal characterization of the relationship. 

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On November 17, a superior court jury in Stamford returned a 15 million dollar verdict in favor of the Auto Body Association of Connecticut (and three other auto body repair shops) arising out of claims againt the Hartford for unfair trade practices. The case docket goes back to 2003 and was filed based on claims that the Hartford was supressing auto body labor rates by steering customers to preferred appraisers and auto body shops.

The website search-autoparts.com provided some insights into the case stating that the claims were supported by "extensive documentation including internal memoranda detailing company policies, as well as several depositions by company employees."  In addition to the 15 million dollar verdict, the Association is now looking to obtain injunctive relief, and potentially punitive damages according to a article in the Hartford Courant by Kenneth Gosselin.  According to an article by Rob Varnon on newstimes.com  the problem started when the Association believed that customers with damaged cars were being steered to preferred shops with lower rates according to terms of the insurance company, not the customer.

The Auto Body Association of Connecticut has taken issue with the practices of appraisals and auto body repair rates for years now.  At one time, even before this current case, I represented one of several independent appraisal companies sued by the Association seeking discovery of documents related to the same set of issues.  Our group of defendants was successful in defending the discovery lawsuit, but it was clear then that the Association intended to bring additional claims.  The Attorney General is also getting into the dispute now seeking federal intervention after having sided with the Association in the past. 

The Hartford intends to continue defending its appraisal and repair program on appeal and with post trial motions.  The Hartford stated "we are disappointed with the verdict and plan to appeal.  We remain confident that our auto-body repair program is fully consistent with Connecticut law . . ." 

This litigation seems far from over.   Only time will which side will eventually prevail.

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The National Cyber Security Alliance recently released a new study with some startling numbers concerning small businesses and the threat of data loss, security breach, or cyber attack.  Some of the key numbers obtained from polling small business owners include:

• 65% store customer information on computer systems
• 43% store financial records
• 33% store credit card information
• 86% do not have anyone focused on system security
• 11% of owners never check their computer security systems.
• 75% use the internet to communicate with customers
• 28% have formal internet security policies

What do these numbers suggest? Deborah Cohen, who covers small business for Reuters.com, published an article following release of the study and “confirmed that small businesses are among the most vulnerable to Internet crime. . .” She quoted Michael Kaiser, executive director of the National Cyber Security Alliance, who noted that “small businesses are pretty robust targets” for cyber attacks citing the lack of Internet protocol and employee training. Cohen’s article also offers some tips from Kaiser for small businesses to help confront cyber attacks.  

If you are looking for some guidance or help with cyber security, read here for some of my earlier posts.  If you are looking for a do-it-yourself placer to start, try the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.  The Chamber offers a great resource entitled“Common Sense Guide to Cyber Security for Small Businesses.” It’s a 12 step plan to increase cyber security. Here are some highlights:

·         Use strong passwords and change them regularly

·         Watch for strange email attachments

·         Install computer security software and network security

·         Keep software updated

·         Limit access to sensitive and confidential data

·         Establish and follow security plan

·         Maintain insurance coverage

The threat of data loss or security breach is not going away, but will only increase. Lawsuits concerning data loss and security breach are more frequent. Business owners need to stay on top of the threat by implementing a sound data loss and privacy plan. There is no one size fits all approach and every business will have its own risk exposures. If you are a business owner, consider having your business evaluated for risks of cyber attack or data loss. 

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The short answer is yes, a business does need a contract, also known as a "non-compete agreement," to prevent a former employee from fairly competing in business once the employee resigns.  Even with a written agreement, there are limitations on non-compete agreements because they are viewed as a restraint of trade.  To be enforceable, the restrictions in the agreement must be reasonable in time, scope, and geography. The restrictions also must be reasonable in relation to legitimate business interests you are seeking to protect.   

A poorly drafted agreement, or no agreement at all, can leave a business with little legal recourse to stop a former employee from fair competition once the employee resigns.  Simply put, the law in Connecticut permits fair competition upon resignation.  However, the lack of a written agreement does not give free license to employees to unfairly compete in all circumstances. 

For example, what about an employee that starts competing against your business without your knowledge while continuing to work for you?  Is this fair competition that should be freely permitted?  Depending on the circumstances, this type of conduct can be actionable in a civil case for damages.  The actionable conduct is breach of the employee's common law duty of loyalty, which exists without a written agreement in certain circumstances.  There are also statutes in Connecticut that can protect businesses in certain situations that do not require contracts such as unauthorized computer access or misappropriation of trade secrets.   

I just read a story about a recent case that demonstrated some of the legal issues involved when there are no contracts in place with former employees.  According to the small business report by Carlye Adler of CNN, Charter Oak Lending, located in in Danbury Connecticut, lost a trial against several former employees who allegedly left to work for a larger company, CTX Mortgage.  Charter Oak alleged it lost more than a third of its business and a million dollars in fees after a sudden departure of 10 employees to CTX. The litigation lasted four years and ended with a defense verdict for the former employees. Charter Oak is appealing the decision. 

It appears that the decision against Charter Oak was based in part on the lack of contracts and the categorization of the defendants as independent contractors rather than employees.   The Trade Secrets Blog by Womble Carlyle picked up the story and had an interesting take focused on pure versus unfair competition.  The blog post supports the legal concept that a line can be crossed turning pure competition into unfair business. 

Charter Oak's appeal of this case will be interesting to follow.  The outcome will likely depend on what evidence existed at trial to demonstrate unfair competition prior to the employees' departure along with consideration of the duty of loyalty.  The takeaway is that it is always better to have written agreements to protect your business' customers, client lists, and confidential information.  However, the lack of such an agreement will not always give free license to former employees to unfairly compete in all circumstances.   A close examination of the facts of each case must be undertaken to consider common law and statutory remedies that do not necessarily require agreements. 

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