Ex-President Sues ETM for Copying 7,000-Name Rolodex

In an unusual trademark case, a former executive of ETM Entertainment Network filed a lawsuit accusing the ticketing concern of misappropriating trade secrets by copying his 7,000-name Rolodex after he submitted his resignation.

Ralph Dennis Finfrock, who resigned last month as president of international sales at the Costa Mesa company, said ETM executives refused to let him depart with his Rolodex.

The filing system contained names and contact information developed over 30 years, including private phone numbers and passport numbers of such entertainment and sports figures as Barbra Streisand, Sugar Ray Leonard, Andre Agassi and Las Vegas casino magnate Steve Wynn, according to the lawsuit, which was filed in Orange County Superior Court.

When the Rolodex was handed over nearly two days later, the suit says, a company employee acknowledged that the cards had been copied.

“This is an unusual case because usually it’s the employer going after an employee, not the other way around,” said attorney Bob Yonowitz, who specializes in unfair competition disputes.

The suit by Finfrock, 51, seeks unspecified damages and an injunction to prevent his former employer from using what he contends are trade secrets. Finfrock’s wife, former ETM marketing employee Beverly Kay Finfrock, is also named as a plaintiff.

“Mr. Finfrock has concerns that a number of people on the list could be contacted inappropriately,” said John Andrew Miller, the plaintiff’s attorney. “The information in that Rolodex is mostly personal and irrelevant to ETM’s business.”

ETM officials could not be reached for comment.

Legal experts say it remains to be seen whether the case, which seeks to prevent ETM from using any of the data taken from the Rolodex, is so clear.

“If this information was used by [Finfrock] to solicit business for the company, then the company could argue that it becomes part of its property,” said attorney Sean O’Brien. “It depends on what the information is and how it was used.”

Before joining ETM, Dennis Finfrock had held many positions in sports and entertainment, including vice president of special events for the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas and as athletic director for the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

During his tenure in Nevada, he coordinated such events as concerts by Streisand and the Rolling Stones, and nearly 40 professional boxing matches, according to the suit.

Finfrock joined ETM last August and helped the company sign deals with several professional sports teams, including baseball’s Texas Rangers and New York Mets and football’s Buffalo Bills and Phoenix Cardinals, the suit states.

ETM sells tickets through the Internet and at electronic kiosks in grocery stores and shopping malls. Billed as a scrappy competitor to industry leader Ticketmaster, ETM is best known for handling ticket sales for the Dodgers, USC football and basketball home games, the Mets and the Rangers.

The Finfrocks’ suit claims that they quit in July after ETM’s computer system crashed and a backup system did not exist.

The couple claimed the company misled its customers about the technological security of its ticketing system. In their resignation letter, dated July 14, the Finfrocks wrote: “We feel compelled to depart at this time, in order to salvage what is left of our reputations.”

None of ETM’s clients could be reached Tuesday to comment on the alleged system failure.

The Finfrocks were asked to leave the company offices and return at the end of the business day to pick up their personal belongings, the suit states.

When they returned, the couple noticed that the two-box Rolodex was missing. ETM staff said the paperwork had been locked away so that ETM could copy it, the suit claims.

Two days later, ETM returned the file to the Finfrocks, denying their request to hand over all copies of the Rolodex.