Case 2:11-cv GP Document 12 Filed 09/29/11 Page 1 of 8 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "Case 2:11-cv GP Document 12 Filed 09/29/11 Page 1 of 8 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA"

Nathaniel Dickerson
5 years ago
Views:

1 Case 2:11-cv GP Document 12 Filed 09/29/11 Page 1 of 8 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA WEBMD HEALTH CORP. ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) v. ) C.A. No ) ANTHONY T. DALE ) ) Defendant. ) DEFENDANT ANTHONY T. DALE S ANSWER TO PLAINTIFF S VERIFIED COMPLAINT Defendant Anthony T. Dale ( Mr. Dale ), by and through his undersigned counsel, hereby submits his Answer to Plaintiff s Verified Complaint, and states as follows: 1. Mr. Dale admits that he was a Group Vice President of WebMD, and that he recently joined Health Grades as a Senior Vice President. Mr. Dale denies that Health Grades is a direct competitor of WebMD. Mr. Dale denies the remaining allegations. 2. Admitted. 3. Admitted. 4. Admitted. 5. Admitted. 6. Mr. Dale admits that WebMD is a provider of online health information. Mr. Dale is without information or knowledge sufficient to form a belief as to the truth or falsity of the remaining allegations and, therefore, denies the same. { / 2}

2 Case 2:11-cv GP Document 12 Filed 09/29/11 Page 2 of 8 7. Mr. Dale is without information or knowledge sufficient to form a belief as to the truth or falsity of the allegations set forth in this paragraph, and therefore denies the same. 8. Mr. Dale is without information or knowledge sufficient to form a belief as to the truth or falsity of the allegations set forth in this paragraph, and therefore, denies the same. 9. Mr. Dale admits that he was employed in a sales capacity at WebMD selling pharmaceutical and medical device internet advertising. Although his last day at WebMD was September 9, 2011, Mr. Dale denies he resigned that day. Mr. Dale submitted his letter of resignation and two weeks notice on August 26, Mr. Dale denies the remaining allegations. 10. Denied. 11. Denied. 12. Mr. Dale admits attending some meetings and training sessions. Mr. Dale denies the remaining allegations. 13. Mr. Dale denies he learned a treasure trove of information at any meeting or meetings. Mr. Dale further denies that any information he may have learned is of any value to his work in Health Grades Hospital Division, which is unrelated to pharmaceutical companies and medical device manufacturers that he worked with at WebMD. Mr. Dale is without information or knowledge sufficient to form a belief as to the truth or falsity of the remaining allegations and, therefore, denies the same. 14. Mr. Dale denies that the purported presentations and market research have anything to do with the Hospital Division in which Health Grades operates. Mr. Dale is without { / 2} - 2 -

3 Case 2:11-cv GP Document 12 Filed 09/29/11 Page 3 of 8 information or knowledge sufficient to form a belief as to the truth or falsity of the remaining allegations and, therefore, denies the same. 15. Mr. Dale denies that the purported information has anything to do with the Hospital Division in which Health Grades operates. Mr. Dale is without information or knowledge sufficient to form a belief as to the truth or falsity of the remaining allegations and, therefore, denies the same. 16. Denied. 17. Mr. Dale denies that any information he may have received is related to Health Grades Hospital Division. Mr. Dale is without information or knowledge sufficient to form a belief as to the truth or falsity of the remaining allegations and, therefore, denies the same. 18. Denied. 19. Mr. Dale is without information or knowledge sufficient to form a belief as to the truth or falsity of the allegations set forth in this paragraph and, therefore, denies the same. 20. The referenced document (Ex. 1 to Compl.) speaks for itself. Mr. Dale denies the remaining allegations. 21. Denied. 22. Denied. 23. Denied. 24. Mr. Dale admits that the referenced websites are Health Grades sites. Mr. Dale denies the remaining allegations. 25. Mr. Dale admits that his last day of employment at WebMD was September 9, Mr. Dale denies the remaining allegations. { / 2} - 3 -

4 Case 2:11-cv GP Document 12 Filed 09/29/11 Page 4 of Mr. Dale denies that WebMD markets directly to hospitals or that the products or services sold are similar to those offered by Health Grades. Furthermore, Mr. Dale states that he did not service hospitals for WebMD and that he never generated any revenue for WebMD by making sales, directly or indirectly, to hospitals. Mr. Dale is without information or knowledge sufficient to form a belief as to the truth or falsity of the remaining allegations and, therefore, denies the same. 27. Mr. Dale denies that the Hospital Division of Health Grades, of which he is a part, engages in the sort of online promotion described in paragraph 27. The referenced document speaks for itself. Mr. Dale is without information or knowledge sufficient to form a belief as to the truth or falsity of the remaining allegations and, therefore, denies the same. 28. Denied. 29. Denied. 30. Denied. COUNT ONE BREACH OF CONTRACT 31. This is a general incorporation paragraph to which no response is required. Nevertheless, Mr. Dale incorporates the admissions, denials, and affirmative defenses set forth herein. 32. Denied. 33. Denied. 34. Denied. 35. Denied. 36. Denied. { / 2} - 4 -

5 Case 2:11-cv GP Document 12 Filed 09/29/11 Page 5 of 8 COUNT TWO INEVITABLE DISCLOSURE OF TRADE SECRETS 37. This is a general incorporation paragraph to which no response is required. Nevertheless, Mr. Dale incorporates the admissions, denials, and affirmative defenses set forth herein. 38. Denied. 39. Denied. 40. Denied. 41. Denied. COUNT THREE UNFAIR COMPETITION 42. This is a general incorporation paragraph to which no response is required. Nevertheless, Mr. Dale incorporates the admissions, denials, and affirmative defenses set forth herein. 43. Denied. 44. Denied. 45. Denied. 46. Denied. 47. Denied. COUNT FOUR CONVERSION 48. This is a general incorporation paragraph to which no response is required. Nevertheless, Mr. Dale incorporates the admissions, denials, and affirmative defenses set forth herein. 49. Denied. { / 2} - 5 -

6 Case 2:11-cv GP Document 12 Filed 09/29/11 Page 6 of Mr. Dale is without information or knowledge sufficient to form a belief as to the truth or falsity of the allegations set forth in this paragraph, and therefore denies the same. 51. Denied. 52. Denied. 53. Denied. 54. Denied. GENERAL DENIAL Mr. Dale denies each and every allegation set forth in the Verified Complaint not specifically admitted herein. AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSES In addition to the defenses stated above, Mr. Dale asserts the following affirmative defenses to Plaintiff s Verified Complaint: First Affirmative Defense Plaintiff s Verified Complaint fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted. Second Affirmative Defense Plaintiff has failed to mitigate its damages, if any. Third Affirmative Defense Mr. Dale s conduct as it related to the Plaintiff was reasonable and taken in good faith. Fourth Affirmative Defense Plaintiff s claims are barred by the doctrines of estoppel, waiver, unclean hands, consent and/or ratification. { / 2} - 6 -

7 Case 2:11-cv GP Document 12 Filed 09/29/11 Page 7 of 8 Fifth Affirmative Defense The restrictive covenant is unenforceable. Mr. Dale reserves the right to add additional defenses as appropriate upon completion of discovery. WHEREFORE, Defendant Anthony T. Dale respectfully requests that Plaintiff s Verified Complaint be dismissed with prejudice, that he be awarded his attorneys fees and costs incurred in this action, and respectfully requests such other relief as the Court deems just and proper. Dated this 29th day of September, Respectfully submitted, /s/ Richard M. Simins Richard M. Simins, Esquire (PA I.D. No ) BUCHANAN INGERSOLL & ROONEY PC Two Liberty Place 50 South 16th Street, Suite 3200 Philadelphia, PA Tel: (215) Fax: (215) richard.simins@bipc.com Kris J. Kostolansky, Esquire (pro hac vice) David M. Hyams, Esquire ROTHGERBER JOHNSON & LYONS LLP th Street, Suite 3000 Denver, CO Tel: (303) Fax: (303) kkosto@rothgerber.com dhyams@rothgerber.com Attorneys for Anthony Dale { / 2} - 7 -

8 Case 2:11-cv GP Document 12 Filed 09/29/11 Page 8 of 8 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I hereby certify that on September 29, 2011, I caused the foregoing Defendant Anthony T. Dale s Answer to Plaintiff s Verified Complaint to be filed using the Court s CM/ECF system, which will send notification of such filings to the following counsel of record. This document is available for viewing and downloading on the CM/ECF system. Diane Siegel Danoff, Esquire Jeffrey Edwards, Esquire Justin Danilewitz, Esquire DECHERT LLP Cira Centre 2929 Arch Street Philadelphia, Pennsylvania s/ Richard M. Simins Richard M. Simins { / 2} - 8 -

Case 1:12-cv RJS Document 8 Filed 01/29/13 Page 1 of 8

Case 1:12-cv RJS Document 8 Filed 01/29/13 Page 1 of 8 Case 112-cv-08170-RJS Document 8 Filed 01/29/13 Page 1 of 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK -------------------------------------- X U.S. COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION,