Opinion ID: 1835915
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Star Direct's Protectable Interests Generally

Text: ¶ 28 Dal Pra was a route salesperson in a very competitive business. Route salespeople generally pose an elevated threat to the employer's business due to the special personal relationships, rapport, and goodwill they develop with the employer's customers while in the employer's service. See id. at 163-64, 98 N.W.2d 415; Chuck Wagon Catering v. Raduege, 88 Wis.2d 740, 752-54, 277 N.W.2d 787 (1979); see also Gary Van Zeeland Talent, Inc. v. Sandas, 84 Wis.2d 202, 214-16, 267 N.W.2d 242 (1978) (describing the special need for protection from route salespeople, but concluding that the former employee was akin to a non-route salesperson). In the typical and classical case of a route customer and salesperson, it is assumed that ... a special personal relationship will develop which will continue even though the salesman should commence his own enterprise or switch employers. Gary Van Zeeland Talent, Inc., 84 Wis.2d at 215, 267 N.W.2d 242. ¶ 29 This was true with Dal Pra. Star Direct invested in Dal Pra, giving him a platform from which to foster, nurture, and cultivate his customer contacts and relationships. Star Direct used marketing dollars to promote Dal Pra and sent him to industry events that further enhanced his ability to develop customer relationships. The record is clear that this was and is a fiercely competitive, relationship-based business. The customers he dealt with, then, were not simply buying product based on price or other objective factors. As Bradley Son, Star Direct's President, made clear in his affidavit, personal and professional rapport between salespeople and customers is essential to a successful and profitable business. See Lakeside Oil, 8 Wis.2d at 159-60, 98 N.W.2d 415 (upholding the reasonableness and enforceability of a restrictive covenant against a former route salesperson where [c]ustomers were obtained primarily upon the basis of the defendant's personal salesmanship and the faith and trust the defendant could engender in the customer). ¶ 30 In addition to the relationship-based nature of the business, Dal Pra's employment positioned him to obtain certain knowledge [6] regarding the specific needs and wants of his customers, the pricing of Star Direct's products, Star Direct's costs, and the profit margins Star Direct earned on certain products. Dal Pra, in our opinion, fits the classic description of the route salesperson, whose base of information and relationships could constitute a threat to Star Direct.