Utah Court of Appeals Affirms Jury Verdict on Trade Secret Misappropriation Claim
In CDC Restoration & Construction, LC v. Tradesman Contractors, LLC the Utah Court of Appeals affirmed a jury verdict of trade secret misappropriation and confirmed established Utah law that a trade secret misappropriation claim can be supported entirely by circumstantial evidence, even where there is no direct evidence that a party actually used the information. The Court had considered CDC's claims in a prior decision, finding that its claims of breach of fiduciary duty were preempted by the Utah Uniform Trade Secret Act, and reversing the trial court's grant of summary judgment to Tradesman, in part, by allowing its claim under the UTSA to go to trial. The case went to trial, and CDC prevailed. The CDC case is an example of the perils associated with trying to be secretive about starting a competing entity while working for an employer. While CDC's breach of fiduciary duty claims never went to trial, it appears that the jury relied heavily on the a...