Plaintiff Entitled to Employer’s Customers’ Addresses, District of New Jersey Holds

In Griff v. GalaxE Solutions, Inc., 2013 WL 2242656 (D.N.J. May 21, 2013), the New Jersey District Court rejected an employer’s attempt to withhold disclosure to the plaintiff of the business addresses of several of its customer contacts. The plaintiff had alleged wrongful termination, and the employer justified its actions on the basis of customer complaints about the plaintiff. In denying the employer’s request for a protective order, the court reasoned that (1) the employer had not articulated a persuasive reason to withhold the addresses based on confidentiality or privilege; (2) the employer placed the clients’ contact information at issue since it relied on the clients’ concerns as a reason to terminate the plaintiff’s employment; and (3) the employer’s failure to clearly and specifically articulate the harm in disclosing these business addresses.