So suppose you’ve signed an NDA saying if you talk about something you’re subject to a substantial monetary penalty. And you get called to court/congress to testify about what you’ve signed that NDA to not talk about. Can the court/congress declare the NDA void or do you just have to decide pay the NDA penalty or go to jail for contempt?
Um, I’m sure you all understand that this is a hypothetical situation I’m talking about.
I’m not a lawyer, but I’d like to put in my thoughts.
If it is a civil matter, I would think you may be held to the nda. If a criminal matter I think the need to know would override the nda.
An NDA can’t be used to cover up a crime, for obvious reasons.
In a civil case, it would be up to the lawyers and judges to decide, but if a judge orders you to testify (assuming it won’t involved self-incrimination), that would overrule the NDA.
I suppose if you didn’t want to testify then you could get a lawyer and argue it out in your own case. But I’d assume **RealityChuck **is correct and the initial judge can nullify the NDA, at a minimum for the purpose of the trial and the specific information you have to testify to. Otherwise companies would require everyone to sign broad NDAs making civil cases even more torturous procedures as each NDA has be challenged independently. I can’t imagine that you could be liable for following a judges directions no matter how the NDA issue is decided in the end.
Well, I hope it is unimaginable. Would a civil contempt charge be equivalent to a criminal charge where you could plead the 5th?
The NDAs I’ve been a party to include language that if I’m ever in a position where I’m potentially being compelled to reveal information covered that I’m to contact the company to get their legal department to weigh in. I presume at that point they would file their own motions to enforce or waive coverage after reviewing the specific information sought.