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Unfair Competition Attorney in Charlotte

Business, Employment, & Litigation Counsel for Competitive Threats

Competitive conduct can threaten your customers, confidential business information, contractual relationships, and position in the marketplace. At Marcellino Moore, PLLC, we assess these concerns through the connected lenses of business law, employment law, and civil litigation. This broad perspective allows us to examine the conduct itself while accounting for the larger business interests at stake.

Founded in 2011, we bring together a deep team of attorneys and dedicated staff in Charlotte. We prepare carefully, provide practical guidance, and advocate for clients in and out of the courtroom. Our firm is recognized by Super Lawyers®, a designation achieved by fewer than 5 percent of attorneys nationwide.

Call (980) 427-3401 or reach out online to discuss the competitive conduct affecting your company in Charlotte and the legal options that may be available.

How North Carolina Law Addresses Unfair Competition

N.C.G.S. § 75-1.1 declares unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices in or affecting commerce unlawful. Conduct may be unfair when it offends established public policy or is substantially injurious. Deceptive conduct generally has the capacity or tendency to mislead. A statutory claim typically requires qualifying conduct in or affecting commerce and an injury proximately caused by that conduct.

The statute defines commerce broadly to include business activities, although it excludes professional services rendered by members of a learned profession. Even within that broad framework, the facts matter. A difficult business decision, contract breach, or competitive loss doesn’t automatically establish an unfair or deceptive trade practices claim.

Common-Law Protection

Common-law unfair competition is a separate theory developed through court decisions rather than a specific statute. A North Carolina Business Court decision has described it as protecting commercial advantages created through a business’s organization, skill, labor, and investment from wrongful misappropriation. Whether this or another theory applies depends on the conduct, available evidence, the relationship between the parties, and the claimed injury.

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Settlements & Judgments

Our Case Results

Business Law
Contracts Protect Business from Former Employee. Attorney Matt Marcellino represented a business that faced a significant threat when a former employee attempted to use company assets and property in a manner that could harm the company.
Business Law
Executive and Shareholder Takes Control of Company After Attempted Termination. Attorney Matt Marcellino represented a part-owner of a company who learned that some of the other owners intended to terminate his employment and force the sale of his shares.
Business Acquisition
Attorney Matt Marcellino represented a business whose long-term goal was to position itself for acquisition by a larger competitor. Over the course of two years, Marcellino worked closely with the owners to navigate the legal and strategic issues necessary to prepare the company for a successful transaction.

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Business Conduct That May Create Competition Claims

Disputes involving a competitor, former employee, contractor, or business partner often cross traditional practice-area boundaries. The conduct may need to be evaluated under contract, employment, trade secret, and business tort principles rather than a single legal theory.

Potential issues include:

Confidential information: Alleged copying, disclosure, or use of customer records, pricing data, product information, internal strategies, or other restricted material.
Trade secrets: Business or technical information that derives commercial value from not being generally known and is subject to reasonable efforts to maintain its secrecy.
Restrictive covenants: Non-compete, non-solicitation, and confidentiality provisions that limit certain conduct during or after an employment or commercial relationship.
Misleading marketplace conduct: Representations or use of another company’s identity that may create confusion among customers or business partners.
Interference with relationships: Conduct that may constitute tortious interference, such as the unjustified disruption of an existing contract or prospective business relationship.

The same facts may support several claims, defenses, or counterclaims. They may also fall short if a required legal element or supporting evidence is missing. Agreements, communications, and the sequence of events therefore require close review.

Evidence & Legal Options in Competitive Disputes

Documents and electronic records can shape the available legal response. Relevant materials may include employment contracts, confidentiality agreements, customer records, marketing content, access logs, employee communications, product data, and financial records. Preserving original records is important because deletion, alteration, or informal circulation can complicate the analysis and affect how the evidence is used.

North Carolina’s Trade Secrets Protection Act permits civil claims for alleged trade secret misappropriation. In an appropriate case, a court may consider preliminary or permanent injunctive relief. An injunction may require certain conduct to stop or direct a party to take a particular action. Courts may also protect disputed trade secret material during litigation through protective orders, private judicial review, or sealed records.

Damages & Other Remedies

If liability under Chapter 75 is established and damages are assessed, N.C.G.S. § 75-16 directs that those damages be trebled, meaning multiplied by three. That remedy doesn’t apply to every commercial dispute. Available relief depends on the supported claims, proof of injury, applicable defenses, and the court’s assessment of the facts.

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How to Prepare for an Initial Legal Review

A clear timeline helps us evaluate what happened, who was involved, and which business interests may have been affected. Preserve potentially relevant records rather than deleting, editing, or broadly forwarding them. Keeping original files and documenting where information came from can make the initial review more productive.

Useful information may include:

The date the conduct began and when your company discovered it.
The customers, contracts, confidential information, or business relationships involved.
Employment agreements, restrictive covenants, confidentiality provisions, and other relevant contracts.
Known access, downloads, disclosures, communications, or marketplace representations.
The financial or operational injury the business attributes to the conduct.
Steps already taken to restrict access, request compliance, or document the issue.

Timing can affect the analysis. For example, a trade secret claim may be subject to a three-year period measured from when the alleged misappropriation was discovered or reasonably should have been discovered. Other claims can follow different deadlines, so the relevant dates and legal theories require individual review.

Get a Practical Assessment of Your Next Steps

Our business law, employment law, and civil litigation practices allow us to evaluate overlapping agreements, workplace relationships, commercial conduct, potential claims, and defenses without losing sight of your broader objectives. We can review the available evidence and discuss which court or non-court responses may fit the circumstances.

Contact us or call (980) 427-3401 to speak with Marcellino Moore, PLLC about your unfair competition concern in Charlotte.

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