Two fish shop owners have filed a judicial protest acccusing a former employee of disclosing their culinary secrets to a market competitor.

Chef Adam Demanuele and Louis Genuis, joint owners of Adam's Gourmet Fish Shop, are claiming that Prakash Kunju Perath had acquired both expertise and knowledge of their recipes during his 19-month stint working at the shop.

After resigning from the job, the defendant took up employment at a supermarket which is allegedly a direct competitor of the plaintiffs' business.

A notice posted by the fish shop owners on their Facebook page. Photo: Facebook

In their judicial protest before the First Hall, Civil Court the plaintiffs claimed that their former employee had acted in an abusive and illegal manner when he took his knowledge of their recipes and distinctive product presentation to his new employer.

The plaintiffs also claimed that this amounted to unfair competition which resulted in confusion among their clients. Moreover, customers could be misled about the true nature of the products' origin.

The plaintiffs declared that this abusive behaviour on the part of their former employee was resulting in significant financial losses for their business. For this reason they requested the court to declare the defendant as being solely responsible for the damages incurred through such unfair competition.

The defendant filed a counter-protest claiming that the allegations levied against him were untrue. He claimed that his former employers were bent on tarnishing his reputation and lowering his standing in the eyes of his present employer.

The man also issued a formal warning of future legal action should the protesting parties pursue their claims.

Lawyers Veronique Dalli and Pawlu Lia signed the protest.
Lawyer Tania Sciberras Camilleri signed the counter protest.