Simon v. Oltmann

Steve Simon (plaintiff) claimed that in 1994, he invented a device to be used with arcade games. The device calculated the number of points earned by a player and issued a coupon that the player could redeem for prizes. Other similar coupon-printing devices and ticket dispensers were already being marketed and used at the time, and companies in the arcade-game industry, including Lazer-Tron (defendant), were considering ways to adapt the technology for their arcade games. Simon began trying to market his invention in late 1994. Simon called Lazer-Tron’s president, Norm Petermeier, to discuss the invention. However, Petermeier said that Lazer-Tron was not interested. In October 1995, Simon met J. Richard Oltmann (defendant) at a trade show and discussed Simon’s coupon device. Unbeknownst to Simon, Oltmann had a long-standing relationship with Lazer-Tron and was friends with Petermeier. Oltmann expressed interest in working with Simon and subsequently met with Simon two more times, once at Oltmann’s office and once at Simon’s home. At Simon’s home, Oltmann signed a nondisclosure agreement, and Simon showed Oltmann the device. Simon explained the device’s features and gave general information regarding estimated production costs and operation. Simon did not show Oltmann any schematics or source codes for the device and did not tell Oltmann how the device was built. Oltmann called Simon five days after the meeting at Simon’s home to tell Simon that Oltmann could not pursue a business deal with Simon. However, over the next several days, Oltmann spoke multiple times with Lazer-Tron. Beginning in September 1996, Lazer-Tron began offering arcade games with coupon printers and a coupon-redemption feature. Lazer-Tron likely began developing those games in late 1995 or early 1996. In late 1996 and early 1997, Simon saw advertisements for Lazer-Tron games that included the coupon-redemption feature and a sample coupon. Simon also obtained Lazer-Tron promotional materials that described the coupon-redemption device and the device’s industry applications nearly identically to how Simon had described the device to Oltmann. Simon accused Oltmann and Lazer-Tron of stealing Simon’s ideas. In response, Oltmann sued Simon for defamation and consumer fraud. Simon then sued Oltmann and Lazer-Tron, alleging claims including misappropriation of trade secrets. Specifically, Simon asserted that the device’s coupon-redemption feature was the stolen trade secret. Oltmann and Lazer-Tron moved for summary judgment.