If you’re a North Carolina employee—especially in Charlotte, Raleigh, Durham, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, Wilmington, Asheville, Cary, or anywhere statewide—your career mobility often intersects with “confidentiality,” “trade secrets,” and sometimes noncompete language. Employers love broad labels. Courts don’t.
A new North Carolina Business Court decision, Mezcalito Apex, Inc. v. Murillo, 2026 NCBC 14 (Feb. 17, 2026), is a useful roadmap for employees navigating job transitions, especially when the former employer claims you “took” information or “will inevitably” use it at your next role.
Below are practical takeaways—written for North Carolina employees—about what employers can (and can’t) successfully plead, and how you can reduce risk when you move on.
1) “Confidential” is broader than “trade secret"
In Mezcalito, the employer sued a former senior employee under a confidentiality/non-disclosure agreement and also brought a trade secret claim under North Carolina’s Trade Secrets Protection Act (NCTSPA).
A key point: the court held the employer adequately pleaded breach of contract because the agreement’s definition of “confidential information” covered more than just statutory trade secrets—at least at the motion-to-dismiss stage.
Employee takeaway:
Even if something isn’t a “trade secret” under North Carolina statute, a contract might still label it “confidential” and impose duties. That’s why your first step before you resign (or right after) is to read what you actually signed—and treat the contract as its own risk category separate from “trade secret” law.
2) “Trade secret” claims fail when the employer stays vague
The same decision is equally important for what the court rejected.
North Carolina requires a plaintiff to identify the trade secret with sufficient particularity—not just broad categories like “recipes,” “business plans,” “pricing,” “supplier relationships,” or “documents.” Categories alone are typically not specific enough.
Employee takeaway:
If a former employer threatens you with a “trade secrets” lawsuit but can’t clearly articulate what the secret is (in detail) and how you misappropriated it (in detail), that threat may be weaker than it sounds. This doesn’t mean “nothing can happen”—but it often changes leverage, strategy, and settlement posture.
3) What’s visible to the public usually isn’t a trade secret
At the hearing, the employer’s counsel conceded that menus and unique food and drink presentations (because they’re in public view) can’t be trade secrets.
Employee takeaway:
A former employer can’t credibly call public-facing features “trade secrets” just because they’re proud of them. Publicly observable aspects of a product/service (or what customers can see, buy, or experience) are usually the wrong fit for trade secret law.
4) North Carolina does not recognize “inevitable disclosure”
The employer also alleged that the employee “will inevitably” use or disclose trade secrets at a new job. The court stated plainly that North Carolina courts do not recognize the doctrine of inevitable disclosure, and the NCTSPA doesn’t provide it.
Employee takeaway:
In North Carolina, a former employer generally can’t win a trade secret case simply by arguing: “You’re going to use it because you know it.” They need real allegations of acquisition, disclosure, or use—pled with specificity.
5) Choice-of-law can decide the case when work happens out of state
This part is critical for employees who relocate (or work remotely for an out-of-state employer). The court applied North Carolina’s lex loci delicti approach for trade secret misappropriation and held that Missouri law governed because the complaint alleged the misappropriation occurred in Missouri and did not allege misappropriation in North Carolina. As a result, the employer’s North Carolina trade secret claim was dismissed as pleaded.
Employee takeaway:
Where the alleged misuse happens can control which state’s law applies. That can dramatically change your exposure (or a plaintiff’s ability to plead a viable claim). If you’re moving from Raleigh to another state—or from Charlotte to a remote job—choice-of-law isn’t academic; it can be outcome-determinative.
6) UDTPA (Chapter 75) claims often collapse without “aggravating circumstances”
Employers sometimes tack on a claim for Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices (UDTPA) to increase pressure (including potential treble damages). In Mezcalito, the UDTPA claim was dismissed where it rested on the same conduct as the dismissed trade secret claim and lacked allegations of “substantial aggravating circumstances” beyond a breach of contract.
Employee takeaway:
If you hear “we’re bringing Chapter 75,” don’t panic—but take it seriously. Courts often require something more than “you breached your agreement” to turn a contract dispute into an unfair-trade-practices case.
Practical Checklist for NC Employees Changing Jobs
If you’re switching employers in North Carolina (or leaving the state), here’s how to reduce risk—without surrendering your right to earn a living:
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Return property and data
Don’t email yourself files, client lists, templates, pricing, internal decks, or strategy docs. Clean separation matters. -
Document your “clean room” approach
Keep contemporaneous notes showing you built new materials from public sources or personal skill—not copied documents. -
Avoid “copycat” optics
Even if something is arguably lawful, copying names, layouts, scripts, or internal terminology can create evidence problems. -
Be careful with LinkedIn and outreach
Announcements are fine. Targeted solicitation using nonpublic lists is where trouble starts. -
Don’t rely on “I memorized it” as a defense
Skill and general know-how are portable; specific nonpublic information is not. Get advice early if you’re unsure. -
If threatened, don’t freelance your response
A sloppy email can become Exhibit A. Get counsel to frame facts and preserve defenses.
FAQ: North Carolina Confidentiality and Trade Secret Basics
Can my employer stop me from using my “experience”?
They can’t own your general skills, training, or industry know-how. But they can protect nonpublic information that qualifies as confidential under a contract or as a trade secret under statute.
If information is on a website or visible to customers, can it be a trade secret?
Usually no. Public-facing information is typically not secret.
Can my former employer win by saying I’ll “inevitably” use what I know?
North Carolina generally does not allow that theory standing alone.
If I move out of North Carolina, does NC law still apply?
Not automatically. For trade secret claims, the location of the alleged misappropriation can change the applicable law.
Bottom Line for North Carolina Employees
Job mobility is lawful. Protecting legitimate trade secrets is lawful. The conflict happens in the gray zone—where employers over-label information, and employees unknowingly step on landmines.
Mezcalito is a reminder that courts require specificity, won’t accept “trade secret” as a magic word, and won’t let plaintiffs skip the hard work of pleading where and how a misappropriation occurred.