Girtman & Associates, Inc. v. Stephen St. Amour, et al.

A commercial dealer in doors and associated hardware sued a former employee for breach of a non-compete agreement. The dealer asked the court to award it either injunctive relief or liquidated damages in the amount of $321,500. After a bench trial the trial court concluded that the non-compete agreement was unenforceable under the circumstances and dismissed the claim for liquidated damages. The court did, however, award the plaintiff nominal damages of $200 on its claim of unfair competition based on use of a proprietary form, as well as punitive damages of $3,000 on the same claim. The dealer appealed. We affirm the trial court.