On Tuesday a case was filed in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania by West Pharmaceutical Services Inc against Vincent Masciopinto. The case is regarding a breach of an employee confidentiality agreement and restricted stock unit award agreement as well as possible breach of the federal and Pennsylvania trade secrets acts.
The plaintiff is a manufacturer and designer of integrated containment and delivery systems for injectable medications. The plaintiff employed the defendant for over 7 years in various management positions including program manager, manager of operations at the Rockford plant, and program director of research & development. In the course of these positions, the defendant was privy to and exposed to many fundamental trade secrets and policies of the plaintiff’s work.
As a part of his employment, the defendant signed an employee confidentiality agreement which specifically required the defendant to protect the plaintiff’s confidential information, the complaint explained. The plaintiff was also informed that he was subject to the West Code of Business Conduct, which included a specific segment regarding the use and protection of confidential information. Finally, the defendant was compensated with restricted stock in West, the terms of which also carried a confidentiality requirement and non-compete provisions.
The plaintiff accuses the defendant of resigning and then seeking employment with West’s direct competitor, Eitan Medical, as Director, Alliance Manager. Per the plaintiff, with the direct competitive relationship, it would be impossible for the defendant to function in this role without violating the non-compete and confidentiality agreements with West. The plaintiff sent a letter indicating this directly, which defendant did not respond to.
The plaintiff is suing for breach of employee confidentiality agreement, breach of the restricted stock unit agreement, violation of the federal Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016, and violation of the Pennsylvania Uniform Trade Secrets Act. The plaintiff is represented by Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP and the Law Offices of Michael LiPuma.
