District Judge Harold Baer
Olan is Sea Crest Linen’s principal. From1999 to 2001and 2006 to 2010Sea Crest employed Gentile as a salesperson, purportedly under agreements barring her solicitation of customers. After leaving Sea Crest in 2010, Gentile began working as a salesperson for White Plains Linen (WPL). WPL fired Gentile in response to Olan’s Sept. 21, 2011, letter asserting her solicitation of Sea Crest customers and threatening WPL with "appropriate action." The court denied Olan judgment on Gentile’s claim of tortious interference with her employment contract. Whether Olan misrepresented the extent of Gentile’s "solicitation" when he directed counsel to threaten WPL with legal action and whether his conduct was culpable created material factual issues for the jury. Further, noting Gentile’s testimony that she never signed any employment agreement containing a nonsolicitation clause and that her signature on those documents was forged, the court found an existing fact issue whether she ever signed an agreement with a nonsolicitation clause. However, Olan was granted summary judgment on Gentile’s fraud claim. Even if Gentile’s signatures on the employment agreements were forged, she could not show her detrimental reliance thereon.
