This odyssey began with a company owner being fired because his three co-owners suspected he was sharing company secret with competitors. Representing the company and the other three owners, we sued in Texas, asking that the court determine ownership of the company and the technology, and seeking damages for misappropriation of trade secrets. We also
Effective May 12, 2016, the newly enacted Defend Trade Secrets Act (“DTSA”) allows a civil action for misappropriation of trade secrets in federal courts. Significant features of the DTSA are: Remedies include actual damages, injunctive relief, punitive damages (up to 2 times the actual damages), and attorney fees. Subject to limitations, a federal court can
In this lawsuit a company, which had been our clients’ customer and its owner accused our clients of conspiring to defraud them, embezzling bank funds, stealing equipment, and interfering with the customer’s business for the purpose of taking over its customers and sales. The former customer and its owner claimed damages exceeding $1,000,000. In reality,
Our client developed and very successfully marketed a downhole tool used in completion of oil and gas wells. A competitor, which is a much larger company, sued our client claiming that the design and specifications for the tool were in fact the competitor’s design and specifications. The competitor sued our client for misappropriation of trade
SAY GOODBYE TO MINORITY SHAREHOLDER OPPRESSION CLAIMS In Ritchie v. Rupe, the Texas Supreme Court faced the question of whether to recognize a common law cause of action for “minority shareholder oppression.” Despite a substantial history of trial courts and lower appellate courts having concluded that this cause of action exists, the Court refused to recognize
Every business needs to protect itself from the risk posed by employees defecting to work for the competition. But what happens if you sue a former employee under a non-compete agreement that is too broad or otherwise unenforceable? They may be able to recover their attorney fees for defending the lawsuit. In the recent case
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Can an Employer Prohibit Former Employees From Planning to Compete? In Nationsbuilders Insurance Services, Inc. v. Houston International Insurance Group, Ltd, a company sued a group of former employees to enforce non-competition provisions. The parties settled that lawsuit, with the settlement agreement providing that the former employees would not engage in “competition” with their former employer for
Texas Uniform Trade Secrets Act Texas has joined the vast majority of states by enacting into law a version of the Uniform Trade Secrets Act. For years, Texas has recognized a claim for misappropriation of trade secrets, but the new law allows a prevailing plaintiff to recover attorney fees if certain conditions are met. Also,
Our client was retained as a subcontractor to fabricate tens of thousands of frames for vehicles that were to be assembled in another state. In order to meet projections provided by the manufacturer and the general contractor, our client committed hundreds of thousands of dollars to increase its workforce, lease additional shop space, and to
