Need Equipment returned.

[jeffo]

My company is based out of Florida.

The person / company that I am writing about is out of California.


The person I am talking about signed a contract / Non disclosure agreement - Part of it stating if you are no longer doing work for our company, all equipment must be returned.


My company hired a programmer to work on our software / hardware. Since we need a new piece of hardware to work with our software, we shipped a computer with the hardware to this company for them to do the work. We are now unable to get in contact with either of the people we have talked to at this company.

Supposedly they had a family emergency and we were able to talk to them one after that and they said they were unable to work on our stuff as of right now and they would return the equipment. That was about 3 weeks ago. We have sent them a letter stating that we need the equipment back with a return label. As of today, no tracking information with the return.

Any advice? Thanks Jeff

 

[Zigner]

My company is based out of Florida.

The person / company that I am writing about is out of California.


The person I am talking about signed a contract / Non disclosure agreement - Part of it stating if you are no longer doing work for our company, all equipment must be returned.


My company hired a programmer to work on our software / hardware. Since we need a new piece of hardware to work with our software, we shipped a computer with the hardware to this company for them to do the work. We are now unable to get in contact with either of the people we have talked to at this company.

Supposedly they had a family emergency and we were able to talk to them one after that and they said they were unable to work on our stuff as of right now and they would return the equipment. That was about 3 weeks ago. We have sent them a letter stating that we need the equipment back with a return label. As of today, no tracking information with the return.

Any advice? Thanks Jeff

I suppose you can head on out to CA to sue...

 

[quincy]

My company is based out of Florida.

The person / company that I am writing about is out of California.


The person I am talking about signed a contract / Non disclosure agreement - Part of it stating if you are no longer doing work for our company, all equipment must be returned.


My company hired a programmer to work on our software / hardware. Since we need a new piece of hardware to work with our software, we shipped a computer with the hardware to this company for them to do the work. We are now unable to get in contact with either of the people we have talked to at this company.

Supposedly they had a family emergency and we were able to talk to them one after that and they said they were unable to work on our stuff as of right now and they would return the equipment. That was about 3 weeks ago. We have sent them a letter stating that we need the equipment back with a return label. As of today, no tracking information with the return.

Any advice? Thanks Jeff

If the person/company fails to send the equipment back within a time period set by you and communicated to them, you coud have an attorney send a letter stating that you are considering taking legal action against them. That might speed up the return-process. Beyond that, there seems to be little you can do other than to take legal action against the person/company in California, to recover your equipment.

Because there is apparently no indication that the programmer or his company has violated the nondisclosure agreement, you have no action against him/them for that.

Although I understand that contracting with an out-of-state company is done with some frequency, it is generally best if you can find someone in your area, or at least in your state, to handle work for you. This can work to eliminate many problems.

Good luck.

 

[jeffo]

Thanks for the response.

The NDA states that if you no longer work for our company, you must return anything ( software / hardware ) related to the company.

What area of law should I be looking for an attorney in? I would assume in intellectual property or breach of contract?

 

[Zigner]

Thanks for the response.

The NDA states that if you no longer work for our company, you must return anything ( software / hardware ) related to the company.

What area of law should I be looking for an attorney in? I would assume in intellectual property or breach of contract?

How much was the "equipment" worth?

 

[quincy]

Thanks for the response.

The NDA states that if you no longer work for our company, you must return anything ( software / hardware ) related to the company.

What area of law should I be looking for an attorney in? I would assume in intellectual property or breach of contract?

A lawyer who handles contract matters would be one you could contact first, for a personal review of the agreement you have with the programmer and his company.

Right now, unless the agreement gives a specific time for return of equipment, the programmer does not appear to have violated the contract. There is no indication that he intends to keep your equipment or disclose any of your company's data.

Good luck.