Court Opinion

ID: 9482890
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 09:03:59.251127+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:49:16.225708
License: Public Domain

RIPPLE, Circuit Judge,
concurring.
I join the judgment of the court. Reversal of a jury verdict by an appellate court on the ground that the record contains insufficient evidence is indeed a rare judicial event and one that ought to be taken only after the most careful inspection of the record. See Arcor, Inc. v. Textron, Inc., 960 F.2d 710 (7th Cir.1992); Cygnar v. City of Chicago, 865 F.2d 827, 834 (7th Cir.1989) (“the drastic step of overturning a jury’s verdict”). Nevertheless, in this case, an inspection of the record yields no ground that supports the contention that the defendants used the trade secrets or *1269other proprietary or confidential information of the plaintiff in their business.
While the law of Illinois is admittedly underdeveloped on this point, I am a great deal less confident than my brothers that Illinois would limit the scope of its unfair trade practices or breach of fiduciary duty torts to the corporate entities which signed the contract. See Lecrone v. Leckrone, 220 Ill.App.3d 372, 162 Ill.Dec. 814, 819, 580 N.E.2d 1233, 1238 (1991). The contract not to compete and not to divulge trade secrets is between CMP and ISPL. However, ISPL was a small organization. The evidence makes clear that Mr. Whitmore, one of the defendants, signed the contract on behalf of ISPL and, as president of ISPL, surely had sufficient responsibility for compliance with the contract to permit a jury to expect he would secure the contemplated agreement of ISPL’s employees. A reasonable jury could also conclude that Mr. Van Der Woude, another defendant, had sufficient responsibility in ISPL to make him aware that the essence of CMP’s expectation was that neither he nor Mr. Whitmore would use to their own advantage the information procured from CMP while working on its project. There was also significant testimonial evidence from Mr. Cray, CMP’s president, that the relationship was considered by all to be one of special trust and not simply a contractual business relationship. See Carey Elec. Contracting, Inc. v. First Nat’l Bank of Elgin, 74 Ill.App.3d 233, 30 Ill.Dec. 104, 108-09, 392 N.E.2d 759, 763-64 (1979). While the Illinois courts have never had to address the precise factual situation, its unfair trade practices and fiduciary duty law appears sufficiently flexible to encompass such a relationship. See Board of Trade v. Dow Jones & Co., 108 Ill.App.3d 681, 64 Ill.Dec. 275, 286, 439 N.E.2d 526, 537 (1982), aff'd, 98 Ill.2d 109, 74 Ill.Dec. 582, 456 N.E.2d 84 (1983).
While I am able to accept the plaintiff’s argument with respect to the breach of fiduciary duty count and the unfair trade practices count up to this point, I cannot make the next, and necessary, step with it. According to the amended complaint, the plaintiff alleges that the gravamen of these counts is the use of trade secrets and other confidential information. As noted earlier, there is no support in the record for this allegation. I believe that, under the facts of this case, Illinois law might find a breach of fiduciary duty in the defendants’ competing against the plaintiff after the termination of this close and confidential business arrangement. However, the complaint does not allege, in these two counts, that the defendants breached their duties by competing against the plaintiff.
On this basis, I join the judgment of the court.