On February 13, 2012, solar panel manufacturer SunPower Corporation filed suit against competitor SolarCity Corporation and former employees who left Sunpower to work at SolarCity. SunPower alleged that SolarCity and SunPower’s former employees misappropriated SunPower’s trade secrets in violation of the California Uniform Trade Secrets Act (CUTSA), Cal. Civ. Code § 3426 et seq. SunPower also alleged a number of causes of action based on misappropriation of what SunPower termed “non-trade secret proprietary information,” including: breach of confidence, conversion, trespass to chattels, tortious interference with prospective economic advantage, and statutory and common law unfair competition.
On August 2, 2012, the defendants filed a motion to dismiss the non-trade secret causes of action based on preemption by CUTSA. The Northern District of California dismissed the non-trade secrets causes of action on December 11, 2012, holding that they were preempted by CUTSA. The parties subsequently stipulated that the action be dismissed with prejudice, with each side bearing its own costs and expenses, including attorneys’ fees. On January 28, 2013, the Court dismissed the action with prejudice and retained jurisdiction to enforce the parties’ settlement agreement.