You got to love the name Muckenfuss, as in the South Carolina Court of Appeals’ opinion in Carolina Chemical Equipment Company v. Daniel B. Muckenfuss 322 S.C. 289, 471 S.E.2d 721. The case involved claims for misappropriation of trade secrets and breach of contract. I begin my review of this case with several quotes from the opinion:
“When an employee leaves a job, he is entitled to take his skills and general knowledge he has either acquired or increased during his employment.”
“[T]he right of an individual to follow and pursue the particular occupation for which he is best trained is a most fundamental right.”
“Because [the contract’s trade secrets provision] basically has the effect of a covenant to to compete, we must subject it to the same scrutiny as a covenant not to compete.”
“However, this is not to say all business ideas are trade secrets. A trade secret must be secret.”
“An employer has no legitimate commercial interest in prohibiting competition in itself.”