High Court rules former employees misused company information

High Court finds former employees breached duties by using EMJ confidential business information

The EMJ Plastics case has resulted in High Court findings that two former employees and their new company misused confidential information belonging to EMJ Plastics Limited in developing and operating a competing business.

The judgment, EMJ Plastics Limited v Mekina Industries Limited & Ors [2026] EWHC 2163 (Ch), was handed down by Recorder Douglas Campbell KC, sitting as a Judge of the High Court, on 17 August 2026. The case was heard in the Intellectual Property List of the Business and Property Courts of England and Wales.

EMJ brought claims against former employees Ian Baggaley and Mark Johnson and Mekina Industries Limited. The claims included breach of contract, breach of confidence, copyright infringement, breach of fiduciary duty, unlawful means conspiracy and joint liability.

The court focused on allegations concerning EMJ documents copied by Mr Baggaley, information obtained from an EMJ employee through WhatsApp messages, and a commercial “Hot List” supplied to Mr Johnson.

The court found that Mr Baggaley copied 11,579 EMJ documents to a Toshiba drive during his notice period. Recorder Campbell found that the material was copied for use in a business competing with EMJ. Mr Baggaley’s subsequent use of the material to create Mekina CAD drawings, a calculation sheet and a business plan was also found to constitute breaches of contract and confidence.

A significant practice point for solicitors advising businesses and senior employees is the court’s finding that confidentiality obligations can continue to have practical significance after employment ends. The judgment also demonstrates that confidential status does not depend entirely on the existence of a specific non-disclosure agreement. The court rejected the argument that information could not be confidential merely because design drawings had circulated within the industry.

The court also found that Mr Johnson had used EMJ’s Hot List for Mekina’s internal purposes, including its business planning and customer targeting. The Hot List contained commercial information including customer details, project information, contract values, assigned actions and status. The court concluded that Mr Johnson’s use of it amounted to breaches of contract and confidence.

Both Mr Baggaley and Mr Johnson were found individually liable in relation to the use of confidential customer information for February 2024 marketing emails. The court found that customer identities had been derived from confidential EMJ material on the Toshiba drive or Hot List, or both.

The court further found that Mr Baggaley owed EMJ a fiduciary duty because of his senior operational role. Recorder Campbell concluded that, had he encountered another employee making plans to compete with EMJ by copying large quantities of company documents, he would have been under a fiduciary duty to report it. Because the competing plan was his own, he was obliged to report himself, and his failure to do so breached that duty.

The court also found Mr Johnson liable alongside Mr Baggaley for relevant uses of the confidential material. It concluded that his assistance was more than trivial and formed part of a common design. Where breaches were committed by Mekina, the court found that both individuals knowingly procured the company to commit those breaches.

The unlawful means conspiracy claim also succeeded. The court found that EMJ had established the required elements, including loss and damage resulting from the conspiracy. The court additionally accepted that Article 13 of the IP Enforcement Directive applied to the breach of confidence claims and rejected the defendants’ argument that they did not know, or have reason to know, that their conduct was wrongful.

The action therefore succeeded to the extent set out in the judgment. The court said it would hear counsel on the form of relief to be granted.