Former Exec Sues ETM Entertainment Over Rolodex

In an unusual trademark case, a former executive of ETM Entertainment Network filed a lawsuit accusing the ticketing concern of misappropriating trade secrets--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 sports and entertainment 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.

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.