FieldWise LLC v. Tegra LLC

CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Indiana
DecidedFebruary 12, 2021
Docket2:19-cv-00080
StatusUnknown

This text of FieldWise LLC v. Tegra LLC (FieldWise LLC v. Tegra LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Indiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
FieldWise LLC v. Tegra LLC, (N.D. Ind. 2021).

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA HAMMOND DIVISION

FIELDWISE LLC, ) Plaintiff, ) ) v. ) CAUSE NO.: 2:19-CV-80-JVB-JPK ) TEGRA, LLC and ANCHOR EXPRESS INC., ) Defendants. )

OPINION AND ORDER This matter is before the Court on a motion to dismiss [DE 53] filed by Defendant Anchor Express Inc. (“Anchor”), Anchor’s related motion for attorney fees [DE 57], a motion for sanctions against the defendants [DE 59] by Plaintiff FieldWise, Inc. (“FieldWise”), and Anchor’s motion for leave to file a sur-reply to the motion for sanctions [DE 74]. For the reasons described below, the sur-reply is permitted, Anchor’s motion to dismiss and FieldWise’s motion for sanctions are granted in part, and Anchor’s motion for attorney fees is denied. BACKGROUND A. The Complaint In brief, FieldWise’s complaint alleges as follows: FieldWise is a company that develops and markets agricultural equipment. Fieldwise recently developed its Z5 Universal Computer Panel (“Z5”), a computerized irrigation control device, for use in farming. A patent is pending for the device. FieldWise permitted one of its distributors, Irrigation Components International, Inc. (“ICII”), to display and demonstrate the Z5 at a trade show in Long Beach, California, in December 2018. FieldWise told ICII to return the equipment promptly after the conference. Unbeknownst to FieldWise, ICII was negotiating with another company, Defendant Tegra LLC (“Tegra”), to sell the Z5 to Tegra, which FieldWise would not have allowed. After the conference, ICII contacted FieldWise to ask if they could keep the equipment for testing and design purposes. FieldWise refused. Despite this, ICII did not return the Z5, and sent it to Tegra instead. Tegra received the equipment on December 21, 2018. On January 15, 2019, Tegra engaged a shipping company, Defendant Anchor, to ship the Z5 and other products to one

of Tegra’s subsidiaries in Europe. Although FieldWise ordered ICII and Tegra to return the equipment, it was shipped to Europe by boat. On February 19, 2019, the shipment arrived in Gdansk, Poland, where it would be examined by customs authorities in Poland and then driven to Ukraine. FieldWise exchanged e- mails with Anchor demanding that it stop the delivery to Ukraine. After initially indicating it would cooperate with FieldWise, Anchor advised that it would only accept orders from Tegra, its client. FieldWise believed that Anchor and Tegra were commandeering the equipment to misappropriate its trade secrets. On February 26, 2019, FieldWise filed this complaint, seeking injunctive relief and making claims for replevin, immediate possession of the equipment, and violation of Indiana and federal trade secret laws.

B. Subsequent Proceedings1 On February 26, 2019, the Court granted FieldWise’s request for a temporary restraining order, which extended through March 12, 2019. [DE 4]. The order required Anchor to hold the equipment in Gdansk for inspection, required both defendants to produce documents relating to the equipment and its transportation, and prevented any defendant from disclosing information about the equipment to any other entity. [DE 8]. On February 27, Anchor advised FieldWise that the container was currently “on hold by customs in Poland and no one can touch it,” but discussed

1 Although the Court’s summary of the complaint contains the facts contended by FieldWise, the description of subsequent events is informed by the contentions of all parties. plans to coordinate the inspection in Gdansk once it was released. Ex. F to Mot. to Dismiss [DE 54-6] at 73-74. On March 1, 2019, Polish customs officers searched the shipping container. FieldWise interprets Polish customs records as showing that only part of FieldWise’s equipment (an “End

Tower Unit”) was found in the container. See [DE 29-7] (Polish Customs Receipt). On March 4, FieldWise requested to have the container searched in a bonded warehouse in Gdansk as ordered, but Tegra described this as “not possible, simply for logistical reasons.” Ex. I to Contempt Motion [DE 60-10]. Tegra suggested inspecting the container at its final destination in Ukraine, but FieldWise rejected the proposal. With the dispute ongoing and the temporary restraining order set to expire, FieldWise moved to extend it. All parties consented to the extension2, and the Court granted the motion, extending the order until April 11. See [DE 10, 11]. Eventually, the container was released on March 8, 2019, for delivery to Ukraine, over FieldWise’s objection. Anchor and Tegra disagreed about who was responsible for this decision. Anchor told FieldWise that its role in the shipment had ended and that Tegra was responsible for

completing the shipment from Gdansk to Ukraine. Tegra indicated that “Polish customs coordinate[d] with a previously determined shipping company” to complete the shipment to Ukraine, a process that was “moving forward without Tegra’s involvement.” Ex. C to Notice of Violation [DE 12-3] at 3. FieldWise stated that they considered both defendants to be in violation of the temporary restraining order. By March 11, the shipping container was nine kilometers outside of the Ukranian border, awaiting processing by Ukranian customs. See Ex. D to Notice of Violation [DE 12-4]. Fieldwise

2 Although Tegra and Anchor had not yet appeared in this action, FieldWise represented in the motion that “[b]oth Tegra and Anchor . . . consent to this request.” [DE 10]. demanded that the container be returned to Gdansk or inspected at a bonded warehouse in Ukraine. Tegra refused, and Tegra’s counsel provided the following rationale: My client has also told me that it is not a good idea to attempt to use a bonded warehouse outside of Ukraine customs in the Ukraine. Any diversion from the stated, original plan from shipment will attract the attention of Ukraine customs and could lead to corrupt activities either within customs or the bonded warehouse. Additionally, regarding the return of the truck and container to Gdansk, this process could take weeks to complete. Because of where the truck is now (stuck in a line waiting to go through customs), it must go through customs and enter Ukraine. Once in Ukraine, new transit papers and customs documents would need to be requested to get the container back [. . .] into Gdansk. According to my client, this process could take weeks [. . .] and the container would need to be stored somewhere in Ukraine for that time. Id. Tegra repeated its previous proposal for the container to be inspected on Tegra’s property in Ukraine. “[R]eserving all rights” to seek relief for violations of the TRO, FieldWise eventually agreed. On March 15, the container was inspected in the village of Kucheryavovolodymirivka, with a FieldWise surveyor present. All of FieldWise’s equipment was inside, but the identification number on the shipping container did not match the number of the container that had been released from Gdansk seven days before. See [DE 29-8], [DE 29-9]. Tegra eventually returned the equipment to FieldWise. When FieldWise received the return shipment, on April 15, it found that the equipment had been damaged. Several “anti-tampering” stickers had apparently been removed from the unit, suggesting to FieldWise that the equipment had been dissembled or examined to learn how the technology worked. See [DE 60] at 21-22. FieldWise now seeks to have Tegra and Anchor held in contempt for violating the temporary restraining order. Anchor has moved to dismiss FieldWise’s claims, arguing that it has not pled facts stating a claim against Anchor, and the return of the equipment to FieldWise means there is no remaining case or controversy with Anchor. Anchor also seeks attorney’s fees under Indiana and federal trade secret law, arguing that FieldWise’s trade secret claims against it were made in bad faith. ANALYSIS 1.

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FieldWise LLC v. Tegra LLC, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/fieldwise-llc-v-tegra-llc-innd-2021.