Docket Number: 16-cv-02767
Case Filing Date: February 24, 2017
Jurisdiction: Federal Court
Location: 3rd Circuit
Court Name: United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
Summary:
On February 24, 2017, a federal jury handed down the first verdict under the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA). Dalmatia Import Group and Maia Magee (“Plaintiffs”) develop and sell various flavors of high quality fig jam. After their business relationship deteriorated, Plaintiffs sued their former distributors, Foodmatch, Inc. and Lancaster Fine Foods, Inc. (“Defendants”). In the suit, Plaintiffs alleged that Defendants’ competing fig jam impersonated Plaintiff’s product, more specifically, that Defendants stole the recipe for Plaintiff’s fig jam. Furthermore, Plaintiffs claimed that Defendants sold and distributed rejected jars of Plaintiff’s fig spread, using Plaintiff’s trademark, without consent.
Plaintiffs brought claims for breach of contract, trademark infringement, counterfeiting, and misappropriation of trade secrets. After a four-week trial in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the jury found Defendants liable for misappropriation of trade secrets, trademark infringement and counterfeiting. The jury awarded Plaintiffs $2.5 million in damages, which Plaintiffs’ attorneys estimate will double to roughly $5 million after the damages are trebled. Plaintiffs’ attorneys also stated the court will issue an injunction enjoining Defendants from using Plaintiff’s trade secrets in the future.
The case is Dalmatia Import Group v. Foodmatch, Inc. et al., 16-cv-02767 (E.D. Pa. Feb. 24, 2017).
Judge: N/A
Plaintiff(s): Dalmatia Import Group, INC., Maia Magee
Defendant(s): and MICHAEL S. THOMPSON, EARTH PRIDE ORGANICS, FOODMATCH, Inc., LANCASTER FINE FOODS, LLC
Legal Basis for Trade Secret Claims: Other federal statute