NDA (Non Disclosure Agreement) Breach Threat

[hartreefoch]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? IL

My Story:

I signed an NDA with someone, and I have completely abided by its terms. Essentially, he had a mathematical theory that required computerized testing, and I performed the testing for him on a completely voluntary basis. The NDA was to protect his rights to his theory. As it turned out, after weeks of working for him (completely for free, I might add), none of the results supported his theory, and he simply could not accept it, demanding more and more work from me. He used the NDA as a contract of work between us (but it is definitely not, and any work I did for him was completely voluntary on my part), and he demanded that I snail-mail him a hard copy of the NDA. (I had already emailed him a signed, scanned copy at the beginning). I tried patiently to reason with him, but he became increasingly irrational to the point of absurdity. Finally, after realizing I was not dealing with someone rational, I wished him well, and then stopped responding to his increasingly hostile and senseless emails.

After a couple of weeks, his emailed me the following:

"I have not received the hard copy of our NDA. I also need confirmation that the programs you wrote are destroyed. Since you indicated a substantial lack of understanding as to the terms of our NDA, you also appear to be at high risk of breaching that agreement. Please have your lawyer call me or give me his name."

My Questions:

* Can he sue me for breaching the NDA? (His assertion that I have breached it is completely false, and throughout our association, he has shown extreme stubbornness in insisting things which are completely false.)

* If he officially sues me and I don't hire a lawyer to defend myself against his completely frivolous lawsuit, can the court side with him?

* Assuming the court sides with him, can it reward him damages which I will be responsible to pay, or garner my wages if I refuse to pay?

Note: he is a 70 year-old retired lawyer in CA (I am in IL), and I truly regret ever helping him. This headache is what I get for trying to help him.

 

[quincy]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? IL

My Story:

I signed an NDA with someone, and I have completely abided by its terms. Essentially, he had a mathematical theory that required computerized testing, and I performed the testing for him on a completely voluntary basis. The NDA was to protect his rights to his theory. As it turned out, after weeks of working for him (completely for free, I might add), none of the results supported his theory, and he simply could not accept it, demanding more and more work from me. He used the NDA as a contract of work between us (but it is definitely not, and any work I did for him was completely voluntary on my part), and he demanded that I snail-mail him a hard copy of the NDA. (I had already emailed him a signed, scanned copy at the beginning). I tried patiently to reason with him, but he became increasingly irrational to the point of absurdity. Finally, after realizing I was not dealing with someone rational, I wished him well, and then stopped responding to his increasingly hostile and senseless emails.

After a couple of weeks, his emailed me the following:

"I have not received the hard copy of our NDA. I also need confirmation that the programs you wrote are destroyed. Since you indicated a substantial lack of understanding as to the terms of our NDA, you also appear to be at high risk of breaching that agreement. Please have your lawyer call me or give me his name."

My Questions:

* Can he sue me for breaching the NDA? (His assertion that I have breached it is completely false, and throughout our association, he has shown extreme stubbornness in insisting things which are completely false.)

* If he officially sues me and I don't hire a lawyer to defend myself against his completely frivolous lawsuit, can the court side with him?

* Assuming the court sides with him, can it reward him damages which I will be responsible to pay, or garner my wages if I refuse to pay?

Note: he is a 70 year-old retired lawyer in CA (I am in IL), and I truly regret ever helping him. This headache is what I get for trying to help him.

The Answers to Your Questions:

* Yes, the 70-year-old retired lawyer in California can sue you. Anyone can sue anyone else for pretty much any reason at all, even if a suit has no merit. Meritless suits can be disposed of rather quickly, however.

* If he officially sues you and you don't hire a lawyer (or even if you do), the court may or may not "side" with him. There is never a way anyone can predict with certainty what a court will or won't do. There is certainly no way anyone here can predict what a court will do, especially without a personal review of all of the facts.

* If the court sides with him and he can show injury enough to support an award of damages, there can be damages awarded that you would be responsible for paying. Collecting on any judgment would be up to him.

I suggest that you send him a hard copy of the agreement, destroy the programs, and send him proof that the programs are destroyed as he has requested.

It does not sound like he has any action worth pursuing, and the costs to pursue any action would probably outweigh any benefits realized, but if he sues you just for the heck of it, you would be wise to consult with an attorney in your area.

Good luck.

 

[hartreefoch]

Thanks for your helpful answers, quincy. I'm pretty sure he knows his case is completely meritless, and I think he is just acting this way to scare me into obeying his commands, to exert control over me. He is a lunatic, to be sure.

 

[quincy]

Ahh. Another piece of advice for you then, for the future: Don't enter into any more agreements with lunatics.

Most non-disclosure agreements will have a clause in them that allows at the owner's request for the return or destruction of confidential material in the recipient's possession, so the fact that the lawyer in California is requesting this of you now is not really all that odd. And, the usual remedy for a breach of an NDA would be a suit for monetary damages, so a threat to sue would not be out of the ordinary either, IF you actually breached the NDA.

I wonder what worthless mathematical theories go for these days.

At any rate, destroying the programs and sending on to the fellow a hard copy of the agreement seem to be a relatively easy way to get the guy off your back.

Good luck, hartreefoch.

 

[hartreefoch]

Thanks again, quincy ...

That's just it - in his delusional mind, his theorem is worth gazillions. It would be if it were true, but the results clearly show it is false. Nevertheless, he refuses to accept the clear facts.

I just emailed him to confirm I've completely deleted everything associated with him, including all programs, data, analysis, results, correspondence, contact information, and even the NDA. I've wiped clean any trace of him from my system. I also told him I set an email filter to automatically delete any future emails from him. Hopefully that will satisfy him, as well as spare me from having to deal with him ever again. Teaches me a big lesson in trying to help someone!

 

[quincy]

You're welcome, hartreefoch.