Legal Question in Technology Law in Tennessee
Trust broken passwords given to competitor by client
My client had problems with Google caching protected information on his web site (I built the site). We took all known percations to secure this area by underscoring the folder and inserting robot text in the page head, however the robots got in and some ss# and addresses got cached. I was informed of this and went to work to resolve the situation. After 11 hrs of work and 5days later we got google to remove the cach and no charge to customer. Problem solved.The client was upset and asked me for passwords and usernames for his account. I told him I couldn't give him these passwords because my whole client base was on them. He told me all he would do with them was put them in a file just to have them incase of an emergancy. Agaist my better judgement I gave them to him. He told me he would lock them in a file cabinet and his office would be locked. I told him to protect them with his life and not to give them to anyone. The next day I recieved a letter of termination. I panicked because he had my passwords, so I Checked my account and found someone had been into it and changed contact info.He cost me 16 hrs of work and now refuses to pay. I decided to bill for the 11hrs I perviously gave free. total 27hrs @$65/hr what can I do.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Trust broken passwords given to competitor by client
You have a very complicated case, which will require a lot of attorney time to sift through your allegations versus your employer's. How much money do you want to spend pursuing this? If you have very little money, then I suggest you focus on finding new work -- rather than getting even with your old employer.
You can't just unilaterally decide to charge someone 11 hours. Two parties have to agree and have a meeting of the minds to form a contract. It sounds like you are only out of 16 hours of work, but the legal costs of pursuing this claim will exceed that.
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Re: Trust broken passwords given to competitor by client
A couple of areas need to be explored. First, what sort of agreement did you have with the individual for whom you performed the services. The details of that agreement, or lack thereof, will have a significant impact on your rights. Second, what sort of information was contained in your "client base" and what sort of agreements, if any, did you make to hold any of that information as confidential? This will determine what your responsibilities are.
This is a case that could become very complicated, but before you pass it off as too expensive to pursue you need to ascertain your rights and your responsibilities. To do this, I would recommend that you gather together all of the documents that bear on this dispute and schedule a consultation with an attorney who handles trade secret protection cases. If you have any follow-up questions, you can contact me at [email protected].
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