Customer information is the most frequently litigated category of trade secrets. Ed Nowogroski Insurance, Inc. v. Rucker is the most prominent case.
In Rucker, the Washington Supreme Court applied a three-part inquiry: whether the list is a compilation of information; whether it is valuable because unknown to others; and whether the owner has made reasonable attempts to keep it secret. 137 Wn.2d at 442.
The decision's central holding concerns form. The trial court had found that written customer materials were trade secrets but had awarded no damages for one departing employee's solicitation of his fifty largest accounts using memorized client information. The Court of Appeals reversed, 88 Wn. App. 350, 944 P.2d 1093 (1997), and the Supreme Court affirmed: WUTSA focuses on the nature of the information, not the form in which it exists, and the distinction between written and memorized information is without legal significance. 137 Wn.2d at 440–41. Protection extends to memorized information.
Rucker presents a potentially significant limitation on employee mobility in Washington that operates independently of any noncompete contract.