New Hampshire Federal District Court Broadly Interprets Preemption Provision In State’s Uniform Trade Secrets Act

In a recent decision, Wilcox Indus. Corp. v. Hansen, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 63668 (D.N.H. May 7, 2012), a federal judge for the District of New Hampshire interpreted the New Hampshire Uniform Trade Secrets Act’s (the “NHUTSA”) preemption provision to preempt all non-contract claims based on unauthorized use of information even if the information at issue is not a trade secret. 

In Wilcox Indus. Corp. v. Hansen, plaintiff Wilcox, a manufacturer of military equipment, filed a complaint against former consultant Mark Hansen and his new employer, Advanced Life Support Technologies, Inc. (“ALST”), alleging misappropriation of trade secrets, unfair competition, and other state law claims after Hansen incorporated Wilcox’s confidential and trade secret information into ALST’s competing life support device. Wilcox also alleged that defendants solicited its existing and prospective customers to purchase ALST’s competing product by using confidential information that Wilcox had entrusted to them, all in violation of a non-disclosure and nonsolicitation agreement and a royalty agreement. Defendants moved to dismiss all claims. The Court granted in part and denied in part the motion to dismiss, and found that plaintiff’s claims for unjust enrichment and breach of fiduciary duty were preempted by the NHUTSA.

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