Premier Lab Supply, Inc. v. Chemplex Industries, Inc.

10 So. 3d 202, 2009 Fla. App. LEXIS 3196, 2009 WL 996317
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
DecidedApril 15, 2009
Docket4D07-3933
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 10 So. 3d 202 (Premier Lab Supply, Inc. v. Chemplex Industries, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court of Appeal of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Premier Lab Supply, Inc. v. Chemplex Industries, Inc., 10 So. 3d 202, 2009 Fla. App. LEXIS 3196, 2009 WL 996317 (Fla. Ct. App. 2009).

Opinion

TAYLOR, J.

This appeal arises from an action for injunctive relief, damages, and other remedies brought by Chemplex Industries, Inc., a New York corporation, and Chemplex Industries, Inc., a Florida corporation (collectively “Chemplex”), against Premier Lab Supply, Inc. (“Premier”), for misappropriation of trade secrets. Premier appeals the trial court’s denial of its motions for directed verdict and judgment notwithstanding the verdict and the court’s order issuing a permanent injunction against Premier. For the reasons stated below, we affirm denial of the motions for directed verdict and judgment notwithstanding the verdict, but reverse the permanent injunction order.

The parties to this litigation manufacture, sell, and distribute plastic cups that are used as containers to hold specimen samples for x-ray spectroscopy and thin films that are used to secure the samples. The subject of this trade secret litigation is a thin film spooling machine. The machine is used by the parties to un-spool thin films from a large master roll and re-spool them onto smaller rolls in a shorter length. The small spool is then repackaged for resale to consumers.

Chemplex sued Anthony Norelli, Maria Norelli, Donato Pompa, Cheryl Trotta, Premier, and Golf Brush, Inc. In the fifth amended complaint, Chemplex alleged that all of the individual defendants were former employees of Chemplex, and that Golf Brush, Inc., was a dissolved corporation owned and controlled by Anthony Norelli. In Count V, which contained the misappropriation of trade secrets claim against Premier under the Uniform Trade Secrets Act, § 688.001 et. seq., Florida Statutes, Chemplex alleged that it owned or possessed certain trade secrets that Premier misappropriated and used to directly compete with Chemplex. Chemplex alleged that the trade secrets included, among other things, designs for certain tools and equipment manufactured by the company, *204 formulas for products, customer lists, and data and information stored on the company computer system. Chemplex requested damages, punitive damages, and injunctive relief.

The parties agreed to bifurcate the trial on liability and damages on Chemplex’s claims against Premier. At the liability phase of the bifurcated trial, Chemplex established the following facts. Monte So-lazzi started Chemplex in New York in 1970 or 1971. Later he moved the company to Florida. He developed and designed all of the products, manufactured them, and determined formulations for all of the required chemicals. Solazzi and his father invented and built the spooling machine used by Chemplex. Solazzi described the spooling machine as follows:

It’s a tabletop machine that has a small motor on it and has an electronic counter with a timing chain of which a large spool of thin film, much like Saran wrap, but a thicker roll, a certain width, goes through a chain, series of wheels for a timing chain, and gets respooled on a smaller spool similar to what you would have on a roll of Saran wrap at home. And it’s respooled onto this here at a specific length and packaged in a box like Saran wrap with a serrated cutting-edge.

According to Solazzi, the design of the unpatented machine is very specific and involves many calculations. The machine has a timing chain with a counter. Although the components of the machine are relatively simple, the specifications took Solazzi a very long time to figure out. The machine was kept in a separate room, where only those employees operating it were permitted to enter. Chemplex was still using the machine at the time of trial, and it was very profitable.

Solazzi testified that he terminated Anthony Norelli in October 1998. Soon after-wards, Norelli removed the spooling machine from the premises along with some inventory. Solazzi notified the Sheriffs Department, and they recovered the machine and some inventory from Norelli and returned them to Solazzi about five hours later.

Solazzi explained that, although the spooling machine is complex in terms of its assembly, it is much easier to reproduce the machine when someone has the machine in front of him and can record the measurements of the different components and the serial numbers and model numbers of the motor and electronic counter. Solazzi testified that someone who could build the same machine could duplicate Chemplex’s entire thin film product line. He said that Premier was able to sell pre-cut rolls of thin film that directly competed with Chemplex’s products because the spooling machine was stolen and copied.

At the end of the two-week trial, the jury determined that the designs for certain tools and equipment manufactured by Chemplex, which Chemplex claimed were misappropriated from them, were trade secrets. The jury found that Premier had obtained information from Chemplex that qualified as a trade secret, that Premier’s misappropriation was willful and malicious, and that Premier utilized these trade secrets to directly compete with Chemplex. The trial court denied Premier’s motion for directed verdict and motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict.

Based on the jury’s verdict, Chemplex subsequently moved for entry of a permanent injunction enjoining Premier from continuing to use its trade secrets. The trial court granted the motion and issued a permanent injunction precluding Premier from using its spooling machine or selling products derived from its spooling machine. Premier appealed the injunction, as well as the denial of its motions for direct *205 ed verdict and judgment notwithstanding the verdict.

Premier argues that it was entitled to a directed verdict and judgment notwithstanding the verdict on the claim for misappropriation of trade secrets because Chemplex failed to present evidence that the designs of the spooling machine were secret or that Chemplex took steps to preserve or maintain the confidentially of those secrets. 1

Under Florida law, a trial court can grant a directed verdict only when no proper view of the evidence could sustain a verdict in favor of the non-moving party. See Owens v. Publix Supermarkets, Inc., 802 So.2d 315, 329 (Fla.2001). The court must evaluate all facts in evidence and all reasonable inferences that can be drawn from those facts in the light most favorable to the non-movant. Id. These principles also apply to judgments notwithstanding the verdict. Wilson v. Tanner, 346 So.2d 1077, 1079 (Fla. 1st DCA 1977) (noting that judgments notwithstanding the verdict should be granted with caution and only if no evidence or reasonable inferences support the nonmoving party’s position). The standard of review on appeal of the trial court’s ruling on a motion for directed verdict is de novo; it is the same test used by the trial court in ruling on the motion. Id.

The issue in this case is whether Chemplex presented sufficient evidence at trial to allow the jury to find that Chem-plex’s spooling machine was a trade secret. A “trade secret” is “information, including a formula, pattern, compilation, program, device, method, technique, or process that”:

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Bluebook (online)
10 So. 3d 202, 2009 Fla. App. LEXIS 3196, 2009 WL 996317, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/premier-lab-supply-inc-v-chemplex-industries-inc-fladistctapp-2009.