The Classic “Email to Self” as Trade Secret Misappropriation

A complaint alleging misappropriation of trade secrets must define the trade secrets specifically enough that the defendant knows what they’re accused of taking. In this case from the North Carolina federal court, the complaint alleges that before the defendant left the plaintiff’s employment, he sent confidential materials from his corporate email account to an outside account. This is a common fact pattern that arises when departing employees seek to take materials from their computers. Including those facts in a complaint may heighten the sense of “specificity” about the trade secrets, i.e., by linking them to an email sent by the employee on their last day of employment. 

U.S. District Judge Martin Reidinger said in an order Tuesday that he was adopting the recommendation of U.S. Magistrate Judge W. Carleton Metcalf to deny Daniel Wells' motion to dismiss.

Wells was sued by his former employer Omni Logistics LLC in January 2025 and accused of creating the competing company Expedite Express LLC using the industry knowledge, clients and trade secrets he took from Omni before leaving. According to Omni, Wells was an employee of Millhouse Logistics Inc., which Omni acquired, and he was caught forwarding confidential information about the acquisition to his email at Expedite Express while still employed as sales director.

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