Krawiec v. Manly, 252A16

Citation370 N.C. 602,811 S.E.2d 542
Decision Date06 April 2018
Docket NumberNo. 252A16,252A16
Parties Michael KRAWIEC, Jennifer Krawiec, and Happy Dance, Inc./CMT Dance, Inc. (d/b/a Fred Astaire Franchised Dance Studios) v. Jim MANLY, Monette Manly, Metropolitan Ballroom, LLC, Ranko Bogosavac, and Darinka Divljak
CourtUnited States State Supreme Court of North Carolina

Hatcher Legal, PLLC, by Erin B. Blackwell and Nichole M. Hatcher, Durham, for plaintiff-appellants.

Brock & Scott, PLLC, by Renner St. John, Charlotte, for defendant-appellees.

JACKSON, Justice.

In this case we consider whether plaintiffs have stated claims for tortious interference with contract, misappropriation of trade secrets, unfair and deceptive practices, civil conspiracy, and unjust enrichment sufficient to survive defendantsmotions to dismiss pursuant to North Carolina Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). See N.C.G.S. § 1A-1, Rule 12(b)(6) (2017). Because we conclude that plaintiffs’ amended complaint reveals the absence of law or facts essential to these claims, or alleges facts that necessarily defeat these claims, we affirm the portions of the North Carolina Business Court's 22 January 2016 Order and Opinion on DefendantsMotions to Dismiss Amended Complaint dismissing the claims listed above.

According to the factual allegations in plaintiffs’ amended complaint, which we take as true for purposes of reviewing an order on a motion to dismiss pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6), see State ex rel. Cooper v. Ridgeway Brands Mfg., LLC , 362 N.C. 431, 442, 666 S.E.2d 107, 114 (2008) (quoting Stein v. Asheville City Bd. of Educ. , 360 N.C. 321, 325, 626 S.E.2d 263, 266 (2006) ), plaintiffs Michael Krawiec and Jennifer Krawiec are residents and citizens of North Carolina who own plaintiff Happy Dance, Inc./CMT Dance, Inc. (Happy Dance)—a North Carolina corporation doing business as Fred Astaire Franchised Dance Studios in Forsyth County. Defendants Jim Manly and Monette Manly own defendant Metropolitan Ballroom, LLC (Metropolitan Ballroom) (collectively, the Metropolitan defendants), which is a North Carolina limited liability company doing business in Mecklenburg County. Defendants Ranko Bogosavac, a citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Darinka Divljak, a Serbian citizen, (the dancer defendants) were employed by plaintiffs pursuant to O1-B nonimmigrant work visas.

On or about 18 July 2011, plaintiffs entered into contracts with Bogosavac and Divljak pursuant to which plaintiffs procured the visas in exchange for each dancer's express promise to work exclusively for plaintiffs as a dance instructor and performer. Bogosavac, who previously had been employed by plaintiffs, was to work exclusively for plaintiffs from 31 January 2012 to 3 January 2013, and Divljak was to do the same from 1 September 2011 to 31 August 2014. The dancer defendants also agreed not to work for any other company that offered dance instruction or competed against Happy Dance for one year after either the expiration or termination of their employment with Happy Dance.

On or about 7 February 2012, the dancer defendants began working as dance instructors for the Metropolitan defendants in violation of their respective employment agreements with plaintiffs. In support of this allegation, plaintiffs attached to their amended complaint copies of Bogosavac's and Divljak's biographies as they appeared on a list of Metropolitan Ballroom's staff on Metropolitan Ballroom's website on 7 February 2012. In addition, according to plaintiffs, the dancer defendants shared confidential information with the Metropolitan defendants, specifically, plaintiffs"ideas and concepts for dance productions, marketing strategies and tactics, as well as ... customer lists [containing] contact information." From this information, the Metropolitan defendants produced and marketed plaintiffs’ dance shows as their own, original productions. The dancer defendants also lured away plaintiffs’ customers, resulting in a significant loss of revenue for plaintiffs.

Based on these factual allegations, plaintiffs asserted various causes of action against all defendants. The Metropolitan defendants and dancer defendants all filed motions to dismiss the amended complaint in its entirety pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6). In its order and opinion regarding the motions to dismiss, the Business Court granted defendants’ motions as to all of plaintiffs’ claims except for plaintiffs’ claims for breach of contract, fraudulent misrepresentation, unjust enrichment, and punitive damages against the dancer defendants. Plaintiffs filed a notice of appeal from the Business Court's order and opinion to this Court pursuant to N.C.G.S. § 7A-27(a)(2)-(3). In their appeal, plaintiffs challenge the Business Court's dismissal of their claims against the Metropolitan defendants for tortious interference with contract, misappropriation of trade secrets, unfair and deceptive practices, civil conspiracy, and unjust enrichment. Plaintiffs also contest the Business Court's dismissal of their claims against the dancer defendants for misappropriation of trade secrets and civil conspiracy. We consider each of plaintiffs’ dismissed claims in turn.

On appeal from an order dismissing an action pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6), we conduct de novo review. Arnesen v. Rivers Edge Golf Club & Plantation, Inc. , 368 N.C. 440, 448, 781 S.E.2d 1, 8 (2015) (citing Bridges v. Parrish , 366 N.C. 539, 541, 742 S.E.2d 794, 796 (2013) ). A Rule 12(b)(6) dismissal "is appropriate when the complaint ‘fail[s] to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.’ " Id. at 448, 781 S.E.2d at 7 (alteration in original) (quoting N.C.G.S. § 1A-1, Rule 12(b)(6) (2013) ). We have determined that a complaint fails in this manner when: "(1) the complaint on its face reveals that no law supports the plaintiff's claim; (2) the complaint on its face reveals the absence of facts sufficient to make a good claim; or (3) the complaint discloses some fact that necessarily defeats the plaintiff's claim." Wood v. Guilford County , 355 N.C. 161, 166, 558 S.E.2d 490, 494 (2002) (citing Oates v. JAG, Inc. , 314 N.C. 276, 278, 333 S.E.2d 222, 224 (1985) ). "When reviewing a complaint dismissed under Rule 12(b)(6), we treat a plaintiff's factual allegations as true." Ridgeway Brands , 362 N.C. at 442, 666 S.E.2d at 114 (quoting Stein , 360 N.C. at 325, 626 S.E.2d at 266 ). In conducting our analysis, we also consider any exhibits attached to the complaint because "[a] copy of any written instrument which is an exhibit to a pleading is a part thereof for all purposes." N.C.G.S. § 1A-1, Rule 10(c) (2017).

The Business Court dismissed plaintiffs’ claim against the Metropolitan defendants for tortious interference with contract on the basis that plaintiffs failed to allege that the Metropolitan defendants knew of the exclusive employment agreement between plaintiffs and the dancer defendants. Plaintiffs contend that the Business Court was in error because plaintiffs’ factual allegations included the statement that the Metropolitan defendants had "knowledge of the contracts." We disagree.

Whether plaintiffs sufficiently alleged that the Metropolitan defendants had knowledge of the exclusivity agreement is essential because a claim for tortious interference with contract requires proof of five elements:

(1) a valid contract between the plaintiff and a third person which confers upon the plaintiff a contractual right against a third person; (2) the defendant knows of the contract; (3) the defendant intentionally induces the third person not to perform the contract; (4) and in doing so acts without justification; (5) resulting in actual damage to plaintiff.

United Labs., Inc. v. Kuykendall , 322 N.C. 643, 661, 370 S.E.2d 375, 387 (1988) (citing Childress v. Abeles, 240 N.C. 667, 674, 84 S.E.2d 176, 181-82 (1954) ).

The entirety of the relevant allegation in plaintiffs’ amended complaint is that "Defendants Metropolitan and Manlys, as well as Defendants Bogosavac and Divljak, all had knowledge and/or should have had knowledge of the existing contracts pursuant to the O1-B work visas between Plaintiffs and Defendants Bogosavac and Divljak." That the Metropolitan defendants allegedly knew of the existing contract "pursuant to the O1-B work visas" does not satisfy plaintiffsRule 12(b)(6) burden because the amended complaint is devoid of any allegation that the work visas themselves constituted or contained any reference to an exclusivity agreement. In fact, elsewhere in the amended complaint, plaintiffs only alleged that "[p]ursuant to the second I-129 Petition ... Defendant Bogosavac agreed to work exclusively for Plaintiffs .... The agreement did not authorize Defendant Bogosavac to engage in other part-time or concurrent work with other dance studios." Regarding Divljak, plaintiffs stated, in even more general terms, "Pursuant to the contract with Plaintiffs, Defendant Divljak was to work exclusively for Plaintiffs .... The agreement did not authorize Defendant Divljak to engage in other part-time or concurrent work with other dance studios." Neither of these factual allegations demonstrates how the Metropolitan defendants could have known of the alleged exclusive employment agreement through knowledge of the O1-B work visas. Therefore, we conclude that "the complaint on its face reveals the absence of facts sufficient to make a good claim" for tortious interference with contract because the plaintiffs failed to allege that the Metropolitan defendants had knowledge of the exclusivity provision. Wood , 355 N.C. at 166, 558 S.E.2d at 494 (citing Oates , 314 N.C. at 278, 333 S.E.2d at 224 ).

We now turn to plaintiffs’ claims for misappropriation of trade secrets against all defendants. The Business Court dismissed these claims on the basis that plaintiffs both failed to identify the alleged trade secrets with sufficient particularity and to allege the specific acts of misappropriation in which defendants engaged. On appeal, plaintiffs contend that their description of their trade...

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