On April 3, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of defendants Justin Pethick and The Randall Powers Company. The case centered on allegations that Pethick misappropriated trade secrets to divert clients from his former employer, Dewolff, Boberg & Associates (DB&A), to his new employer, Powers.
The defendants were represented by Berman Fink Van Horn (BFV) shareholders Lea Dearing and Benjamin Fink and associate Ashley Bowcott.
On behalf of Pethick and Powers, BFV moved for summary judgment and moved to exclude DB&A’s damages expert under Daubert. The district court excluded DB&A’s expert and summarily dismissed DB&A’s claims, including the claim for misappropriation, because there was no evidence of damages.
On appeal, the Fifth Circuit affirmed on the alternative grounds raised, but not addressed, by the district court. Specifically, the Fifth Circuit found that DB&A had failed to adequately identify its trade secrets or to distinguish its alleged trade secret information from information that is publicly available. It also found there was no evidence that Pethick or Powers ever used or disclosed the alleged trade secret information.
