Essay Prompt #1

You are a lawyer who has been hired to represent Starz Service, LLC a catering company that is incorporated in Washington state and headquartered in Vancouver, Washington.Melanie is the owner of Starz Service.Starz Service specializes in entertainment catering.Servers dress up like famous people like ElvisPreslyand Marilyn Monroe and serve the food while in character.

Melanie has hired you to sue a former officer of Starz Service LLC, Sally.Sally worked at Starz Service for 5 years and was the Vice President of customer relations.A few months ago, Sally quit Starz Service and moved to Portland, Oregon where she started her own catering company, called Starz Service Mobile, that offers similar entertainment catering services.Portland, Oregon is about 15 miles from Vancouver, Washington.Starz ServiceMobile is not incorporated.Sally operates it as a sole proprietorship.Like Starz Service, Starz Service Mobile's servers dress up like famous people.Unlike Starz Service,StarzService Mobile only provides outdoor catering, not indoor catering.

Melanie is quite upset because she was planning to expand her catering services to outdoor venues before Sally left.Starz Service LLC's customer base includes Portland, Oregon and Melanie believes she will lose $100,000 per year in revenue to Sally.On the other hand, Melanie was thinking of retiring soon and the loss of Sally, a key officer of her company, has made Melanie more inclined to retire early.Melanie and Sally are old childhood friends and started the company together after years of dreaming up the business.Sally thought of the outdoor catering idea based on feedback she heard from Star Service's customers.Melanie resisted expanding the business which was frustrating to Sally.

Sally signed an employment agreementwith Starz Service LLC that contains a non-compete clause.The clause prohibits Sally from engaging in a similar business as Starz Service for a 1-year period after the end of her employment.

Melanie, in the following format:In the first paragraph, advise Melanie of all the legal claims Starz Service could bring in a lawsuit and what defenses Sally might have to those claims.In the second paragraph advise Melanie of (1) what courts would have subject matter jurisdiction over herclaims; (2) what court you recommend that she file her lawsuit in and why; and (3) how to establish personal jurisdiction over Sally.In the third paragraph, discuss the pros and cons of litigation and propose any alternative dispute resolution options to Melanie.