Preemptive “forum shopping” fails against our client’s Trade Secret litigation

Gentry Locke for the Defendant

United States District Court, Western District of Virginia

After being informed that our client intended to file a trade secret misappropriation case in Ohio on behalf of its business, the opposing company filed a declaratory judgment action in Franklin County Circuit Court seeking a ruling that it had not misappropriated any of our client’s trade secrets. Gentry Locke attorneys Kevin Holt and Alicha Grubb then removed the Virginia case to Federal Court and moved to have it dismissed.  The Virginia Federal Court granted the motion, finding that the opposing company had improperly filed the declaratory judgment action first in “an improper attempt at forum shopping.” The Court declined to exercise jurisdiction and held that the substantive trade secret case in Ohio should proceed, even though our client’s case had not been filed first.

Read the Judge’s Opinion PDF    Read the Court’s Order in PDF