From Project Veritas v. Thibodeau, decided Friday by New York trial court judge Sabrina Kraus:
Petitioner commenced this Article 75 Proceeding seeking a preliminary injunction in aid of arbitration. Petitioner asks that the court to prevent Respondent from publicly disclosing Petitioner's confidential information and publicly disparaging Petitioner and its personnel, in what Petitioner alleges is a clear violation of the parties' Employment Agreement….
Respondent was hired by Petitioner as a video editor in or about December 2019. Under the terms of his Employment Agreement, dated December 17, 2019, Respondent was an at-will employee.
Petitioner alleges its journalism and news-gathering activities involve the use of secret devices and undercover journalists, who sometimes use pseudonyms to protect their identities. Respondent became aware of the methods and devices used by Petitioner to gather information, the methods Petitioner used to portray the information gathered, and the identities of the undercover journalists who gathered such information.
Petitioner requires in its employment agreements—including Respondent's Employment Agreement—that its' employees strictly maintain the confidentiality of such information, both during and after their employment. Relevant provisions from Respondent's Employment Agreement include:
Paragraph 12 of the which states Respondent will maintain and protect the confidentiality of Petitioner' Confidential Information both during and after his employment; and
Paragraph 17 which prohibits Respondent from disparaging Petitioner or its personnel during his employment and after its termination; and
Paragraph 18 which prohibits Respondent from publishing any information about Petitioner, either directly or through his agents, both during and after the term of his employment; and
Paragraphs 12, 17, and 18 also provide that a violation of any one of these provisions paragraphs would cause irreparable harm to Petitioner, and that Project Veritas entitling Petitioner to injunctive relief; and
Paragraph 26 provides for damages for the breach of said provisions including liquidated damages.
On or about September 15, 2020, Respondent voluntarily resigned his position with Petitioner and allegedly embarked on a career as an adult film actor and standup comedian.
In August 2022, Respondent began publishing a series of videos on YouTube which addressed press coverage about several lawsuits between Petitioner and a terminated employee named Antonietta Zappier. Respondent posted said videos to his YouTube channel under the name "Jean Jacques the Cock."
