Talenthub Worldwide, Inc. v. Talenthub Workforce, Inc., et al.

Background

Talenthub Worldwide, Inc. alleged that Talenthub Workforce, Inc., Eric Goldstein, Standard Consulting, Inc., Diane Porembski, Patricia Kampel, Tanya Wilson, Jeannine Triolo, Valerie West, Joseph Lipinski, and J Computer Pro, Inc. misappropriated its computers, data, and trade secrets. The claims arose under the federal Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA), the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), and New York law.

Talenthub Worldwide used a cloud-based staffing platform called Avionté to manage its business and employees. The amended complaint alleged that the platform contained business information, client and temporary-employee information, sales and financial reports, payroll reports, and other client information. Talenthub Workforce was created as a separate company in May 2021, and the individual defendants later left Talenthub Worldwide and began working for Talenthub Workforce full time. Talenthub Worldwide alleged that the defendants continued using its trade secrets and accessing its computer systems without authorization.

CFAA Claim

The court dismissed the CFAA claim as barred by the statute’s two-year limitations period. The amended complaint stated that Talenthub Worldwide’s July 11, 2022, letter advised the defendants that their conduct involved unauthorized access to Talenthub Worldwide’s computers and email systems and supported a CFAA claim. Because Talenthub Worldwide filed this action on August 19, 2024, the court concluded that the claim was untimely based on the face of the amended complaint.

The court rejected Talenthub Worldwide’s argument that the limitations period began when the computers were returned on September 27, 2023, because the claim began running when Talenthub Worldwide learned that its computer systems or data had been impaired. The court also rejected equitable tolling, which can extend a filing deadline in rare circumstances, because Talenthub Worldwide had not shown the required diligence or extraordinary circumstances. The court stated that better pleading could not cure the CFAA claim’s untimeliness.

DTSA Claim

The court dismissed the DTSA claim for failure to adequately allege the existence of a trade secret. Under the DTSA, information qualifies as a trade secret only if its owner takes reasonable measures to keep it secret and the information has economic value because it is not generally known or readily ascertainable.

The court concluded that the amended complaint alleged that Talenthub Worldwide voluntarily gave the defendants access to its Avionté platform, including the alleged trade-secret information, without reasonable confidentiality restrictions such as a confidentiality agreement. The court also relied on an April 26, 2022, letter offering the defendants separate Avionté passwords or accounts so that both sides could continue accessing the platform. Although Talenthub Worldwide alleged that it used login credentials and required some temporary employees to sign confidentiality agreements, the court found that those measures did not overcome its unrestricted sharing of the information with the defendants.

The court rejected Talenthub Worldwide’s arguments that Talenthub Workforce was effectively part of the same company and that the disclosure was not voluntary. The amended complaint described Talenthub Workforce as a separate company and a direct competitor, and the court concluded that Talenthub Worldwide shared the information of its own choice. The court allowed Talenthub Worldwide to seek permission to file a second amended complaint addressing the failure to plead a trade secret.

State-Law Claims and Jurisdiction

The remaining claims arose under New York common law. The court found that the amended complaint did not adequately establish diversity jurisdiction, which allows a federal court to hear certain disputes between citizens of different states. The complaint alleged that Talenthub Worldwide was incorporated in New York and had offices there; Talenthub Workforce and J Computer Pro were New York corporations with principal places of business in New York; Standard Consulting was incorporated in Delaware but had its principal place of business in New York; and all individual defendants were domiciled in New York.

The court also declined to exercise supplemental jurisdiction, which can allow a federal court to hear related state-law claims alongside federal claims. Because the case was at an early stage and related New York state-court proceedings were pending, the court determined that the state-law claims should not remain in federal court.

Disposition

Judge Lorna G. Schofield granted the defendants’ motion to dismiss. Talenthub Worldwide may seek leave to replead the DTSA claim by October 3, 2025, through a letter motion and proposed amended complaint. It may not seek leave to replead the CFAA claim. If no motion to replead is filed, the CFAA and DTSA claims will be dismissed with prejudice, and the state-law claims will be dismissed without prejudice. The clerk was directed to close the motion.