Stanley Tulchin Associates, Inc. v. Vignola

CourtNew York Supreme Court — Appellate Division
Writing for the CourtBefore BALLETTA
Citation186 A.D.2d 183,587 N.Y.S.2d 761
Decision Date21 September 1992
PartiesSTANLEY TULCHIN ASSOCIATES, INC., Appellant, v. George Spencer VIGNOLA, et al., Respondents.

Page 761

587 N.Y.S.2d 761
186 A.D.2d 183
STANLEY TULCHIN ASSOCIATES, INC., Appellant,
v.
George Spencer VIGNOLA, et al., Respondents.
Supreme Court, Appellate Division,
Second Department.
Sept. 21, 1992.

Sherman, Citron & Karasik, P.C., New York City (Michael Wexelbaum, of counsel), for appellant.

Allen R. Morganstern, Mineola, for respondents.

Before BALLETTA, J.P., and O'BRIEN, COPERTINO and PIZZUTO, JJ.

Page 762

MEMORANDUM BY THE COURT.

In an action for injunctive relief and for damages for breach of an employment agreement, the plaintiff appeals from so much of an order of the Supreme Court, Nassau County (Wager, J.), dated December 18, 1989, as denied, after a hearing, that branch of its motion which was to enjoin any violation of a three-year nondisclosure covenant contained in an employment agreement, declared that covenant to be invalid, and dismissed its causes of action to recover damages for tortious interference with contract against the defendant Commercial Collection Consultants, Inc.

ORDERED that the order is reversed insofar as appealed from, on the law and the facts and as a matter of discretion, with costs, the fifth, sixth, and seventh decretal paragraphs of the order are deleted, and a provision is substituted therefor [186 A.D.2d 184] declaring that the provision of the employment agreement which barred the defendant George Spencer Vignola from utilizing and disclosing the client lists of the plaintiff to third parties for the three-year period is valid; and it is further,

ORDERED that the causes of action against the defendant Commercial Collection Consultants, Inc., sounding in tortious interference with contract, are reinstated.

The defendant George Spencer Vignola was employed as an account executive by the plaintiff Stanley Tulchin Associates, Inc. (hereinafter STA), a commercial collection agency, from August 27, 1976, until October 19, 1987. On September 10, 1982, STA and Vignola entered into an employment contract. In pertinent part, the agreement provided that Vignola would treat the "Know-How" he gained as an employee as confidential and would neither use nor disclose such "Know-How" to third parties for a period of three years after his employment with STA ended. "Know-How" was defined as "STA's methods of client solicitation, its clients' needs and natures, its business information, documents, records, techniques, ideas, writings, forms, working methods, pricing, caliber of individual employees and other information, not generally known to the public or competitors". Vignola also agreed, inter alia, that for a period of one year after leaving STA's employ he would not solicit, nor aid and abet solicitation of, any STA client who was a client of STA during the final two years of Vignola's employment.

After Vignola resigned and obtained work with the defendant, Commercial Collection Consultants, Inc....

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19 practice notes
  • DelVecchio Reporting Services, LLC v. Edwards, CV166061264S
    • United States
    • Superior Court of Connecticut
    • July 13, 2017
    ...them and the question of what might be called the customer contact issue. An interesting case in Stanley Tulchin Assoc. v. Vignola, 186 A.D.2d 183, 587 N.Y.S.2d. 761 (1992), which held the employer was entitled to injunctive relief as regards its clients list and reasoned as follows: The cl......
  • Marcone Apw Llc v. Servall Co.
    • United States
    • New York Supreme Court Appellate Division
    • June 17, 2011
    ...clients and creating new business” ( Eastern Bus. Sys., 292 A.D.2d at 337, 739 N.Y.S.2d 177; see Stanley Tulchin Assoc. v. Vignola, 186 A.D.2d 183, 185, 587 N.Y.S.2d 761; Giffords Oil Co. v. Wild, 106 A.D.2d 610, 611, 483 N.Y.S.2d 104). In any event, even assuming, arguendo, that the misapp......
  • UAB, Inc. v. Ethos Auto Body, LLC, 2021-32037
    • United States
    • United States State Supreme Court (New York)
    • March 9, 2021
    ...through years of effort and advertising involving a substantial expenditure of time and money (Stanley Tulchin Assoc, Inc. v Vignola, 186 A.D.2d 183 [2d Dept 1992]). In Eastern Bus. Sys., Inc. v Specialty Bus. Solutions, LLC (292 A.D.2d 336 [2d Dept 2002]), the Appellate Division, Second De......
  • Lumex, Inc. v. Highsmith, CV 96-0855 (ADS).
    • United States
    • United States District Courts. 2nd Circuit. United States District Court (Eastern District of New York)
    • March 19, 1996
    ...(American Broadcasting Cos. v. Wolf, 52 N.Y.2d 394, 403, 438 919 F. Supp. 629 N.Y.S.2d 482, 420 N.E.2d 363; Tulchin Assocs. v. Vignola, 186 A.D.2d 183, 587 N.Y.S.2d 761; Altana, Inc. v. Schansinger, 111 A.D.2d 199, 489 N.Y.S.2d IV. The Crucial Issue In this case, there is a special kind of ......
  • Request a trial to view additional results
20 cases
  • DelVecchio Reporting Services, LLC v. Edwards, CV166061264S
    • United States
    • Superior Court of Connecticut
    • July 13, 2017
    ...them and the question of what might be called the customer contact issue. An interesting case in Stanley Tulchin Assoc. v. Vignola, 186 A.D.2d 183, 587 N.Y.S.2d. 761 (1992), which held the employer was entitled to injunctive relief as regards its clients list and reasoned as follows: The cl......
  • UAB, Inc. v. Ethos Auto Body, LLC, 2021-32037
    • United States
    • United States State Supreme Court (New York)
    • March 9, 2021
    ...through years of effort and advertising involving a substantial expenditure of time and money (Stanley Tulchin Assoc, Inc. v Vignola, 186 A.D.2d 183 [2d Dept 1992]). In Eastern Bus. Sys., Inc. v Specialty Bus. Solutions, LLC (292 A.D.2d 336 [2d Dept 2002]), the Appellate Division, Second De......
  • UAB, Inc. v. Ethos Auto Body, LLC, Index 70850/2018
    • United States
    • United States State Supreme Court (New York)
    • March 9, 2021
    ...through years of effort and advertising involving a substantial expenditure of time and money (Stanley Tulchin Assoc, Inc. v Vignola, 186 A.D.2d 183 [2d Dept 1992]). In Eastern Bus. Sys., Inc. v Specialty Bus. Solutions, LLC (292 A.D.2d 336 [2d Dept 2002]), the Appellate Division, Second De......
  • Marcone Apw Llc v. Servall Co.
    • United States
    • New York Supreme Court Appellate Division
    • June 17, 2011
    ...clients and creating new business” ( Eastern Bus. Sys., 292 A.D.2d at 337, 739 N.Y.S.2d 177; see Stanley Tulchin Assoc. v. Vignola, 186 A.D.2d 183, 185, 587 N.Y.S.2d 761; Giffords Oil Co. v. Wild, 106 A.D.2d 610, 611, 483 N.Y.S.2d 104). In any event, even assuming, arguendo, that the misapp......
  • Request a trial to view additional results

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