A decision issued this summer by a federal district court in New York provides important lessons for professionals in the food services and restaurant industry regarding employee defection and trade secrets issues.

The litigation arose out of a dispute between BLT Restaurant Group and its accomplished executive chef Laurent Tourondel. BLT was formed in 2004 and operated 18 restaurants across the United States and internationally. BLT hired Tourondel as its Executive Chef and incorporated Tourondel's name and initials into the branding of the BLT restaurants, hence the acronym: Bistro Lourent Tourondel. One of the restaurants in the BLT family was BLT Burger.

On February 28, 2010, Tourondel left BLT. Shortly thereafter, he opened a new restaurant named "LT Burger." BLT sued Tourondel, a colleague of his who left with him, and LT Burger, and alleged that the LT Burger menu copied the BLT menu "almost exactly" and was based on BLT's confidential and proprietary information. BLT also claimed that LT Burger and Tourondel used the same proprietary recipes at LT Burger as were used at BLT Burger and that LT Burger misappropriated elements of BLT's marketing strategy by promoting Tourondel through similar media as were used by BLT.

In addition to violating Tourondel's contractual confidentiality and non-disclosure obligations, Tourondel breached his duty of loyalty to BLT and engaged in unfair competition, according to the lawsuit. LT Burger and Tourondel asked the court to dismiss the case. Their request was granted in part and denied in part, and the court's opinion is instructive for aspiring restaurateurs.