After 20 years of employment, Rowena Cheung quit her job with Fada International, an importer of jewelry and precious stones. She not only left the company with trade experience, but also an extensive rolodex of client contacts which she used to launch her own jewelry business. However, Cheung had signed a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) before leaving the company, in which she had promised not to disclose the customer information. Her former employer, in an effort to maintain its position in the competitive jewelry import business, then filed a lawsuit against Cheung claiming that she had misappropriated customer information.