Rimkus Consulting Group Inc. v. Cammarata - Ballard Spahr LLP

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Case 4:07-cv-00405 Document 450 Filed in TXSD on 02/19/10 Page 30 of 139 Rimkus by preparing to form U.S. Forensic before he left Rimkus in October 2006. Rimkus alleges that Bell, Cammarata, and DeHarde planned and made preparations to set up U.S. Forensic and compete against Rimkus long before they resigned. The record shows that Bell registered the domain name “www.usforensic.com” on February 28, 2006. (Docket Entry No. 321, Ex. F). During the summer of 2006, Bell met with a lawyer, contracted with a company to host a web site, filed a trademark application, and prepared a corporate logo for U.S. Forensic. (Id., Exs. G, H, R, S). On October 1, 2006, Bell created U.S. Forensic résumés for himself, Cammarata, and DeHarde. (Id., Ex. I). Corporate formation documents for U.S. Forensic were filed with the Louisiana Secretary of State on October 5, 2006. (Id., Ex. J). On October 13, 2006, Bell’s wife filed an application for U.S. Forensic to practice engineering in the State of Louisiana. (Id., Ex. T). Bell testified in his deposition that he did not agree to form a new company until after he had resigned from Rimkus. (Id., Ex. D, Deposition of Gary Bell, at 423:13–:18). Bell testified that he told DeHarde and Cammarata he was leaving and “they said they were leaving, and – and so we talked about maybe we should do something together. And, I – I think, it was that vague, you know, maybe we should do something together, maybe we talked a little bit about it, you know, after hours or something here, might have a phone call about it, and – but no real – once – once I left, that’s when we kind of really kicked it into high gear.” (Id. at 424:13–:22). On September 30, 2006, Bell emailed Cammarata, DeHarde, and Bill Janowsky, an engineer at another Louisiana firm, to inform them that Rimkus had made him some lucrative offers to entice him to retract his resignation but that he would go 30
Case 4:07-cv-00405 Document 450 Filed in TXSD on 02/19/10 Page 31 of 139 forward with the plan to form U.S. Forensic if they were still committed to doing so. (Docket Entry No. 324, Ex. KK). Bell stated, “Without each of you, it will not be worth leaving. If one guy falls [sic] to come along, the whole thing will be completely different.” (Id.). He continued: We have a dream team. I really believe that Rimkus is making these ridiculous offers more because of who I could possibly recruit than anything I can actually do myself. But fear not. I have committed to each of you and for that reason alone I would not abandon you in our dream. I just wanted to give each of you one last chance to bail with no hard feelings. Tell me now or meet me on Ridgelake on November 15 with your sleeves rolled up. (Id.). The record does not include emails responding to this message. Rimkus alleges that this email and any responses were not produced in discovery because the defendants intentionally deleted them. On November 11, 2006, Bell emailed Cammarata, DeHarde, and Janowsky 22 asking for their names, addresses, and social security numbers to set up a payroll tax account for U.S. Forensic. (Id., Ex. B). Bell stated in the email that he had received his COBRA package from Rimkus along with a form letter stating that Rimkus expected him to honor his agreements, including his noncompetition covenant. (Id.). Bell continued: “However, the designated geographic area is the MSA of any city in which Rimkus has received assignments from in the five years prior. We are in good shape and I’ll bet they know it. We need to serve them on Monday to prevent them from filing in Texas. Larry [Demmons] will 22 The email does not disclose the recipients, but because the message asked for the “partners’” names, addresses, and social security numbers, the recipients were presumably Cammarata, DeHarde, and Janowsky. 31
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Rimkus Consulting Group Inc. v. Cammarata - Ballard Spahr LLP

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