Verigent, LLC v. Schiano

Filing 33

CONSENT ORDER granting 32 Motion for Entry of Consent Order. The parties agree that the entry of this Consent Order concludes this legal action and that the terms of this Consent Order and settlement are fair and reasonab le. Consistent with the terms of this Consent Order and the Settlement Agreement, this action, and all claims alleged by Verigent, are hereby DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE AND WITHOUT COSTS. The Clerk is respectfully directed to CLOSE THE CASE. The parties agree that this Court shall retain jurisdiction over any dispute involving this Consent Order or the Settlement Agreement.. Signed by Chief Judge Frank D. Whitney on 2/27/18. (clc)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF NORTH CAROLINA
CHARLOTTE DIVISION
)
VERIGENT, LLC,
)
)
)
Plaintiff,
)
)
v.
)
)
)
MICHAEL SCHIANO,
)
)
Defendant.
)
____________________________________)

Civil Action No.: 3:17-cv-187

CONSENT ORDER

THIS MATTER comes before the Court by way of the parties’ joint Motion for Entry of a
Consent Order (Doc. No. 32), which has been presented to this Court for entry as a result of the
parties’ resolution of this lawsuit at mediation. For the reasons stated in the motion, it is
GRANTED.
WHEREAS, Plaintiff Verigent, LLC (“Verigent”) filed its Complaint on April 6, 2017
against Defendant Michael Schiano (“Schiano”) alleging claims for misappropriation of trade
secrets, breach of the confidential information non-disclosure and non-solicitation provisions of
his Verigent employment agreement, tortious interference with existing and prospective business
relations, unfair and deceptive trade practices and unjust enrichment.
WHEREAS, on May 18, 2017 Schiano filed a Motion to Dismiss regarding Verigent’s
claim for breach of the customer and employee non-solicitation provisions and contending that
this claim and Verigent’s unjust enrichment claims were duplicative. By Order of November 17,
2017, the Court denied Schiano’s Motion to Dismiss without prejudice to reasserting his arguments
in a motion for summary judgment or at trial.

WHEREAS, Schiano also filed his Answer on May 18, 2017 denying the material
allegations of the Complaint.
WHEREAS, the parties conducted a mediation on December 21, 2017, and reached a full
and final settlement which requires the entry of this Consent Order to fully effect the terms of the
settlement. The parties therefore hereby request that the Court enter this Consent Order consistent
with their settlement agreement. The parties stipulate and consent to this Consent Order, to its
prompt entry by the Court, and to each and every provision, ordered and decreed herein.
WHEREAS, this Consent Order is not intended and shall not be construed as an admission
by Schiano of any of Verigent’s claims against him in this action, which he continues to deny.
WHEREAS, the parties have consented to this Consent Order simply to resolve disputed
claims and to avoid the time, expense, and uncertainty of continuing this lawsuit.
NOW THEREFORE, upon consent of the parties hereto, through their respective
undersigned counsel, IT IS ORDERED, ADJUDGED AND DECREED:
1.

Schiano will permanently delete or destroy all Verigent and Verigent-derived (for

example, Verigent forms and templates that have been used to create new forms and templates for
non-Verigent use) electronic or physical data or documents within his possession, custody or
control, including but not limited to Proprietary Information and Confidential Information (as
those terms are defined in Sections 4 and 5, respectively, of Schiano’s “Employment Agreement
with Nondisclosure and Nonsolicitation Clauses” attached to the Complaint (Doc. No. 1) as
Exhibit 1). Schiano will verify in a sworn affidavit that the deletion has taken place. Such deletion
must include, but not be limited to, Schiano’s personal laptop computer which was imaged and
forensically analyzed by Reliance Forensics in accordance with the ESI Protocol entered into
between the parties. If it is mutually determined by Verigent and Schiano that Schiano’s efforts
to permanently delete such information was not effective to permanently delete the same, Schiano

authorizes Reliance Forensics to take whatever forensically sound and industry accepted actions
necessary to permanently delete such information from the Schiano’s personal laptop computer.
Schiano further agrees not to use or disclose any Verigent Proprietary Information or Confidential
Information to which he ever had access either as an employee of Verigent or by virtue of having
such information in his possession, custody or control after resignation from his employment with
Verigent, or to attempt to access any such information to the extent that it resided in cloud-based
storage or email accounts.
2.

Schiano will not seek or accept employment, or become employed, whether as an

officer, director, employee, consultant, or otherwise, to perform services identical to those services
that Schiano provided or performed during his employment at Verigent, for or on behalf of
Rightech, Inc. (based in Iselin, New Jersey) for a period of one year from December 21, 2017.
3.

In the event that there is a breach of the restrictions contained in paragraphs 1 or 2

above, Verigent shall be entitled to seek injunctive relief and monetary damages against Schiano
for said breach. The prevailing party in any such legal action shall be entitled to recover from the
other party its reasonable attorneys’ fees and other litigation expenses, including any reasonable
investigative costs. The remedies set forth in this paragraph shall be in addition to any legal or
equitable remedies existing at law and shall not be construed as a limitation upon any such
remedies.
4.

The parties have agreed to the terms of this Consent Order and its entry as a

settlement of all claims and defenses asserted in Plaintiff’s Complaint and Defendant’s Answer.
The terms of the parties’ mutual release of each other from any and all claims for relief are set
forth with more particularity in the parties’ separate Settlement Agreement and Mutual Release
(the “Settlement Agreement’).

5.

The parties agree that the entry of this Consent Order concludes this legal action

and that the terms of this Consent Order and settlement are fair and reasonable. Consistent with
the terms of this Consent Order and the Settlement Agreement, this action, and all claims alleged
by Verigent, are hereby DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE AND WITHOUT COSTS. The Clerk
is respectfully directed to CLOSE THE CASE.
6.

The parties agree that this Court shall retain jurisdiction over any dispute involving

this Consent Order or the Settlement Agreement.
SO ORDERED.
Signed: February 27, 2018

s/G. Bryan Adams, III
G. Bryan Adams, III ([e-mail])
N.C. Bar No. 17307
VAN HOY, REUTLINGER, ADAMS & DUNN, PLLC
737 East Boulevard
Charlotte, North Carolina 28207
Telephone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Attorneys for Plaintiff
s/Steven J. Whitehead
Deborah A. Ausburn ([e-mail])
Michael Eric Ross ([e-mail])
Steven J. Whitehead ([e-mail])
Taylor English Duma LLP
1600 Parkwood Circle – Suite 400
Atlanta, Georgia 30339
Telephone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Attorneys for Defendant