Hamburger v. Hamburger

David Hamburger (defendant) rose to become sales manager and general manager at his family's company, Ace Wire and Burlap, run by his father Joseph (defendant) and uncle Ted (plaintiff), doubling the company's sales and customer base along the way; Ted, resentful of David's growing role, repeatedly tried and failed to remove him, and warned David he would be fired if Joseph died first. Facing this uncertainty, David arranged $50,000 in financing from an Ace supplier and leased space for a competing business while still employed, then resigned without notice, incorporated his new company, hired away Ace's bookkeeper, and successfully solicited many of Ace's customers using publicly available information. Ted sued David and Joseph, alleging David's financing and lease arrangements breached his duty of loyalty while still employed, and that Joseph improperly helped David obtain and use Ace's customer list.