Stuart C. Irby Company, Inc. v. Brandon Tipton

GRUENDER, Circuit Judge.

In this appeal, we consider claims brought by an employer after several of its employees left to work for a competitor. The district court granted summary judgment to the defendants on all claims and awarded them attorneys’ fees and costs. We conclude that granting summary judgment to the defendants was inappropriate and that the award of attorneys’ fees and costs must be vacated.

I. Background

Brandon Tipton, Michael Gilbert, and Steven Padgett worked for Treadway Electric Company, Inc. (“Treadway”), a distributor of electrical products. Tipton initially worked for…