What is the name of your state? New York
If Acme returned the deposit and gave no product to Cogswell Cogs, is Cogswell still considered a former "client" of Acme?
I was a salaried employee of a service company (Acme), and have a 12-month non-solicitation agreement that prohibits me from soliciting or accepting work from anyone who was a client of Acme within the 12 months before I quit.
Cogswell Cogs asked Acme to write a custom software program. I was the only person working on the project while I worked for Acme. After trying in vain to resolve some issues I had with Acme, I gave my 30-day notice of resignation (enough time to complete the project). Acme immediately dismissed me and returned the deposit they had accepted to Cogswell, saying that they would not be able to fulfill the contract.
Now Cogswell is angry with Acme for leaving them without a mission-critical product and wants to hire me to finish the project. I would like to help them, and from an ethical standpoint I am comfortable that Acme pretty much gave up rights to both me and the client, but I wonder what is the legal point of view?
If Acme returned the deposit and gave no product to Cogswell, is Cogswell still considered a "client"?
I have followed the high road throughout, and want to continue to do so. I do not want to steal a client from Acme. However, if Acme dropped the ball with both Cogswell Cogs and with me, then could Acme still have a potential beef with me if I help out Cogswell?
Acme have proven themselves to be aggressive and unreasonable, which is another reason that I left. And that is why I want to make sure I am on firm ground!
If Acme returned the deposit and gave no product to Cogswell Cogs, is Cogswell still considered a former "client" of Acme?
I was a salaried employee of a service company (Acme), and have a 12-month non-solicitation agreement that prohibits me from soliciting or accepting work from anyone who was a client of Acme within the 12 months before I quit.
Cogswell Cogs asked Acme to write a custom software program. I was the only person working on the project while I worked for Acme. After trying in vain to resolve some issues I had with Acme, I gave my 30-day notice of resignation (enough time to complete the project). Acme immediately dismissed me and returned the deposit they had accepted to Cogswell, saying that they would not be able to fulfill the contract.
Now Cogswell is angry with Acme for leaving them without a mission-critical product and wants to hire me to finish the project. I would like to help them, and from an ethical standpoint I am comfortable that Acme pretty much gave up rights to both me and the client, but I wonder what is the legal point of view?
If Acme returned the deposit and gave no product to Cogswell, is Cogswell still considered a "client"?
I have followed the high road throughout, and want to continue to do so. I do not want to steal a client from Acme. However, if Acme dropped the ball with both Cogswell Cogs and with me, then could Acme still have a potential beef with me if I help out Cogswell?
Acme have proven themselves to be aggressive and unreasonable, which is another reason that I left. And that is why I want to make sure I am on firm ground!
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