Distributor Service, Inc. v. Stevenson

16 F. Supp. 3d 964, 38 I.E.R. Cas. (BNA) 316, 2014 WL 1631827, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 56902
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Indiana
DecidedApril 24, 2014
DocketNo. 1:13-cv-01409-JMS-DKL
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 16 F. Supp. 3d 964 (Distributor Service, Inc. v. Stevenson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Indiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Distributor Service, Inc. v. Stevenson, 16 F. Supp. 3d 964, 38 I.E.R. Cas. (BNA) 316, 2014 WL 1631827, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 56902 (S.D. Ind. 2014).

Opinion

ORDER

JANE MAGNUS-STINSON, District Judge.

Presently pending before the Court are: (1) a Motion for Partial Summary Judgment filed by Plaintiff Distributor Service, Incorporated (“DSI”), [Filing No. 41]; and (2) a Cross-Motion for Partial Summary Judgment filed by Defendant Rusty J. Stevenson, [Filing No. 46].

I.

Standard op Review

A motion for summary judgment asks the Court to find that a trial is unnecessary because there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and, instead, the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(a). As the current version of Rule 56 makes clear, whether a party asserts that a fact is undisputed or genuinely disputed, the party must support the asserted fact by citing to particular parts of the record, including depositions, documents, or affidavits. Fed. R.Civ.P. 56(c)(1)(A). A party can also support a fact by showing that the materials cited do not establish the absence or presence of a genuine dispute or that the adverse party cannot produce admissible evidence to support the fact. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c)(1)(B). Affidavits or declarations must be made on personal knowledge, set out facts that would be admissible in evidence, and show that the affiant is competent to testify on matters stated. Fed. R.Civ.P. 56(c)(4). Failure to properly support a fact in opposition to a movant’s factual assertion can result in the movant’s fact being considered undisputed, and potentially in the grant of summary judgment. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e).

On summary judgment, a party must show the Court what evidence it has that would convince a trier of fact to accept its version of the events. Johnson v. Cambridge Indus., 325 F.3d 892, 901 (7th Cir.2003). The moving party is entitled to summary judgment if no reasonable fact-finder could return a verdict for the non-moving party. Nelson v. Miller, 570 F.3d 868, 875 (7th Cir.2009). The Court views the record in the light most favorable to the non-moving party and draws all reasonable inferences in that party’s favor. Darst v. Interstate Brands Corp., 512 F.3d 903, 907 (7th Cir.2008). It cannot weigh evidence or make credibility determinations on summary judgment because those tasks are left to the fact-finder. O’Leary v. Accretive Health, Inc., 657 F.3d 625, 630 (7th Cir.2011). The Court need only consider the cited materials, Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c)(3), and the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has “repeatedly assured the district courts that they are not required to scour every inch of the record for evidence that is potentially relevant to the summary judgment motion before them,” Johnson, 325 F.3d at 898. Any doubt as to the existence of a genuine issue for trial is resolved against the moving party. Pon-[967]*967setti v. GE Pension Plan, 614 F.3d 684, 691 (7th Cir.2010).

The fact that cross-motions for summary-judgment have been filed does not automatically mean that all questions of material fact have been resolved. Franklin v. City of Evanston, 384 F.3d 838, 842 (7th Cir.2004). The Court must evaluate each motion independently, making all reasonable inferences in favor of the non-moving party with respect to each motion. Id. at 843.

II.

Background

The Court finds the following to be the undisputed facts, supported by admissible evidence in the record:

DSI is a seller and distributor of wholesale specialty building products to businesses in the Middle Atlantic and Midwest regions of the country. [Filing No. 41-1 at 1.] DSI has eight locations in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, and Michigan, and employs over one-hundred employees. [Filing No. 41-1 at 1.] Defendant Rugby IPD Corp., doing business as Rugby Architectural Building Products {“Rugby” ), is also in the business of selling and distributing wholesale specialty building products, does so throughout the United States including in Indiana, and is a direct competitor of DSI. [Filing No. 41-1 at 1.] Mr. Stevenson is a former employee of DSI, and is currently employed by Rugby. [Filing No. 41-1 at 1-2.]

A. DSI’s Business

The specialty building products sold and distributed by DSI “are not finished products like those a consumer may buy off the shelf in a retail store, but are specialized materials that go into the products manufactured or built by DSI’s customers. Some of the primary product categories DSI distributes in Indiana include plywood, melamine board, raw board core, wood finishes, and laminate.” [Filing No. 41-1 at 2.] DSI’s customers have “an in-depth knowledge of the products they need and very specialized requirements and specifications for the products they purchase.” [Filing No. 41-1 at 2.] DSI maintains Customer Lists, which it claims are confidential and which it considers proprietary. [Filing No. 41-1 at 2.] DSI also has information it calls Customer Product Preferences, which include “unique specifications for the products DSI provides— specifications that are specially suited to the manufacturing or building process of the particular customer and its ultimate products.” [Filing No. 41-1 at 2.] DSI also claims its pricing is “highly customized from customer to customer for the same products and product categories, depending on a number of variables that are specific to each customer, and even variables unique to specific projects for each customer,” which it refers to as Competitive Pricing. [Filing No. 41-1 at 3.] DSI negotiates special vendor costs with the manufacturers it represents that are customized by product and “in many cases are unique to particular customers or even projects for particular customers,” which it refers to as Competitive Cost Structure. [Filing No. 41-1 at 3.]

DSI’s Customer Lists, Customer Product Preferences, Competitive Pricing, and Competitive Cost Structure “are the cornerstone of DSI’s ability to compete effectively in the specialty building products industry in Indiana,” and include “information that derives economic value from not being generally known to other persons who can obtain economic value from its disclosure or use.” [Filing 41-1 at 4.]

B. Mr. Stevenson’s Employment With DSI

DSI hired Mr. Stevenson in October 1999 when it opened an Indianapolis [968]*968Branch, and “with the intention of training [him] to be a salesman and teaching him the specialty building products industry and business.” [Filing No.

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16 F. Supp. 3d 964, 38 I.E.R. Cas. (BNA) 316, 2014 WL 1631827, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 56902, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/distributor-service-inc-v-stevenson-insd-2014.