Atmel Corp. v. Vitesse Semiconductor Corp.
Colorado Court of Appeals
30 P.3d 789 (2001)
Atmel Corporation (Atmel) (plaintiff) sued former employees and their new employer, Vitesse Semiconductor Corporation (Vitesse) (defendant), after the employees gave Vitesse names of other Atmel employees Vitesse might want to hire. Atmel's employment contracts barred former employees, for one year, from directly or indirectly soliciting, recruiting, or persuading any Atmel employee to leave. The trial court's injunction broadly barred the former employees from any involvement at all in Vitesse's hiring of Atmel employees, even those who initiated contact themselves. The defendants appealed.
Whether, in Colorado, an employment contract is interpreted according to the plain meaning of its terms and the parties' intentions, including supplemental parol evidence of industry standards.