Tewari De-Ox Systems, Inc. v. Mountain States/Rosen, L.L.C.

Plaintiff sued defendant alleging that defendant misappropriated plaintiff's trade secrets related to a meat-packing method, which used a zero parts-per-million oxygen-storage atmosphere, after plaintiff visited defendant's plant to demonstrate its meat-packing method. At issue was whether the district court considered plaintiff's affidavit on reconsideration and whether defendant's motion for summary judgment was properly granted. The court held that the district court properly considered plaintiff's objected-to evidence when ruling on its motion for consideration; that the district court erred by entering summary judgment in favor of defendant when it incorrectly defined plaintiff's trade secrets and failed to consider that a unique combination of elements already publicly disclosed or generally known were protectable as trade secrets under Texas law; and that the district court properly denied plaintiff's partial summary judgment claim on the existence of a fiduciary duty and did not err when it failed to sua sponte enter judgment in plaintiff's favor.