Fmc Corporation v. Varco International, Inc., Best Industries, Inc. And Robert L. Witt

GEE, Circuit Judge:

While Robert L. Witt was employed by FMC Corporation as the engineering mana ger of its Brea, California, facility, he was offered and accepted a job as a vice president of engineering at Best Industries, a direct competitor of FMC. While at FMC, Witt had signed an agreement that prohibited unauthorized disclosure of trade secrets. 1 FMC has been a pioneer in the areas of oilfield fittings and flow control technology and in the past ten years has invested more than $12 million in research and development to invent, design, and develop its products. The most commercially…