Brackett & Ellis, P.C.

Brackett & Ellis, P.C. has been providing a diversified range of transaction and litigation services in Fort Worth, Texas, since 1978. As a midsize law firm, our team offers every client the experience and dedication that is necessary for success. We represent a wide range of clients, from individuals to large companies and nonprofit organizations. For more than three decades, our firm has developed a reputation as a valued corporate citizen in the Fort Worth community.

Latest from Brackett & Ellis, P.C. - Page 3

The Fort Worth Business & Employment Law Reporter

Fifth Circuit Holds that the TCPA Does Not Apply to Federal Diversity Cases

By Heath Coffman

March 15, 2020

Litigation and appeals title on a book and gavel. — (c) Vitalii Vodalazski

One of the open questions for the Texas Citizens Participation Act (TCPA) was whether it applied in federal diversity cases. Last August, the Fifth Circuit finally answered that question in Klocke v. Watson, 936 F.3d 240 (5th Cir. 2019).…

The Fort Worth Business & Employment Law Reporter

Failure to Specify How Trade Secrets Are Allegedly Being Used Results in Summary Judgment Dismissal of Claims

By Heath Coffman

March 1, 2020

Man is filling in Non-Disclosure Agreement NDA. — (c) Vitalli Vodalazkyl / Adobe Stock

Morrison v. Profanchik, No. 05-17-01281-CV, 2019 WL 3798182 (Tex. App.–Dallas Aug. 13, 2019), supplemented, No. 05-17-01281-CV, 2019 WL 5112268 (Tex. App.–Dallas Oct. 10, 2019) is a case involving the summary judgment dismissal of counterclaims for breach of non-disclosure/non-compete agreement and misappropriation of trade secrets. In Morrison, plaintiff Profanchik approached Stonecoat of Texas about purchasing one of its franchises. The parties entered into a nondisclosure/noncompete agreement with the understanding that the competitor would be divulging…

The Fort Worth Business & Employment Law Reporter

Dallas Court of Appeals Holds that the Inevitable Disclosure Doctrine Cannot Be Used to Create a Fact Issue on Misappropriation of Trade Secrets

By Heath Coffman

February 23, 2020

Disclosure Documents Background Information Facts 3d Illustration — (c) iQoncept / Adobe Stock

Under trade secrets law, the inevitable disclosure doctrine is the idea that a defendant’s new employment will lead to the inevitable disclosure of a former employer’s trade secrets. Texas courts have issued mixed holdings on the subject. After the Texas Uniform Trade Secrets Act (TUTSA) was enacted in 2013, some speculated that its language permitting injunctive relief for “threatened misappropriation” was an implicit adoption of the inevitable disclosure doctrine. In a recent decision,…

The Fort Worth Business & Employment Law Reporter

2019 Trade Secrets Year in Review

By Heath Coffman

February 16, 2020

trade secrets label on folder — (c) cacaroot / Adobe Stock

On February 6, I had the pleasure of giving the 2019 Trade Secrets Year in Review at TexasBarCLE‘s annual Advanced Intellectual Property Law seminar. …

The Fort Worth Business & Employment Law Reporter

Dallas Court of Appeals Affirms Denial of TCPA Motion in Trade Secrets Case

By Heath Coffman

January 26, 2020

Drilling rig for drilling oil and gas wells on the background of a beautiful sky. — (c) Adobe Stock / mangz

Pearl Energy Inv. Mgmt., LLC v. Gravitas Res. Corp., No. 05-18-01012-CV, 2019 WL 3729501 (Tex. App.—Dallas Aug. 7, 2019, no pet.) is a trade secrets case involving the previous version of Texas’s anti-SLAPP statute the Texas Citizens Participation Act (TCPA). (Effective September 1, 2019, the TCPA no longer applies to trade secrets claims.) In Pearl Energy, Gravitas, an oil and gas production company, alleged that it spent years researching and evaluating the…

The Fort Worth Business & Employment Law Reporter

Southern District of Texas Denies Summary Judgment In Part for Trade Secrets Claim

By Heath Coffman

December 22, 2019

Programming code abstract technology background of software developer and Computer script — (c) monsitj / Adobe Stock

In M-I L.L.C. v. Q’Max Sols., Inc., No. CV H-18-1099, 2019 WL 3565104 (S.D. Tex. Aug. 6, 2019) involves the familiar fact of an employee leaving his employer and taking the employer’s trade secrets with him. After the employer conducted a forensic investigation and discovered that the departing employee had downloaded the employer’s confidential documents before he departed, the employer sued the employee for various causes of action, including violations of the Defend Trade Secrets Act…

The Fort Worth Business & Employment Law Reporter

Dallas Court of Appeals Explores the TCPA in Complex New Decision

By Heath Coffman

December 14, 2019

Old Red Museum - Dallas, Texas — (c) demerzl21 / Adobe Stock

Through most of 2019, the Dallas Court of Appeals has refused to apply the Texas Citizens Participation Act (TCPA) to commercial litigation claims. Goldberg v. EMR (USA Holdings) Inc., No. 05-18-00261-CV, 2019 WL 3955771 (Tex. App.–Dallas Aug. 22, 2019, no pet. h.) reverses that trend in part. Goldberg is too complex of a case to summarize here. Therefore, I’ll just hit the highlights:…

The Fort Worth Business & Employment Law Reporter

Austin Court of Appeals Issues Opinion on the TCPA and Conspiracy

By Heath Coffman

December 1, 2019

Business partners making handshake in dark shadow — (c) Kritchanut / Adobe Stock

Most cases that have evaluated the Texas Citizens Participation Act (TCPA) have focused on whether the TCPA applied to the claims. This isn’t the issue in Neurodiagnostic Consultants, LLC v. v. Nallia, No. 03-18-00609-CV, 2019 WL 4231232 (Tex. App.—Austin Sept. 6, 2019, no pet. h.). Instead, Nalia focuses on whether the non-movant offered sufficient proof to defeat a TCPA motion to dismiss.…

The Fort Worth Business & Employment Law Reporter

How to Keep Trade Secrets Secret While in Trial

By Heath Coffman

November 24, 2019

One of the most difficult things about litigating a trade secrets case is how to handle the introduction of evidence containing the trade secret. The party obviously does not want this information divulged in open court or filed as a public record. Thus, to get around this problem, the party must file a motion to seal the records with the trial court. Many litigators believed that the Texas Uniform Trade Secrets Act’s (TUTSA)…

The Fort Worth Business & Employment Law Reporter

Another Trade Secret Case Involving the TCPA

By Heath Coffman

November 17, 2019

Confidential Concept with Word on Folder. — (c) tashatuvango / Adobe Stock

Over the past several months, I’ve been tracking the explosion of cases where a defendant uses Texas’s anti-SLAAP statute the Texas Citizens Participation Act (TCPA) as a defense to a misappropriation of trade secrets claim under the Texas Uniform Trade Secrets Act (TUTSA). The Beaumont Court of Appeals case in Callison v. C&C Pers., LLC, No. 09-19-00014-CV, 2019 WL 3022548(Tex. App.–Beaumont July 11, 2019, no pet. h.) is another one of those…

Brackett & Ellis, P.C.

Fifth Circuit Holds that the TCPA Does Not Apply to Federal Diversity Cases

Failure to Specify How Trade Secrets Are Allegedly Being Used Results in Summary Judgment Dismissal of Claims

Dallas Court of Appeals Holds that the Inevitable Disclosure Doctrine Cannot Be Used to Create a Fact Issue on Misappropriation of Trade Secrets

2019 Trade Secrets Year in Review

Dallas Court of Appeals Affirms Denial of TCPA Motion in Trade Secrets Case

Southern District of Texas Denies Summary Judgment In Part for Trade Secrets Claim

Dallas Court of Appeals Explores the TCPA in Complex New Decision

Austin Court of Appeals Issues Opinion on the TCPA and Conspiracy

How to Keep Trade Secrets Secret While in Trial

Another Trade Secret Case Involving the TCPA

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