Southwest Whey Inc. v. Nutrition 101, Inc.

117 F. Supp. 2d 770 (2000)

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Southwest Whey Inc. v. Nutrition 101, Inc.

United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois
117 F. Supp. 2d 770 (2000)

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Facts

Southwest Whey Inc. (plaintiff) obtained and sold whey to customers west of the Mississippi River. Nutrition 101, Inc. (defendant) marketed and sold feed to hog farmers. Southwest Whey wanted to expand its business geographically, and in 1989, the companies created a joint venture under which Southwest Whey would obtain whey from dairies and Nutrition 101 would market the whey to hog farmers located east of the Mississippi River. The companies did not maintain written compilations of trade secrets, nor did their agreements with each other or with dairies or farmers contain confidentiality provisions. Southwest Whey and Nutrition 101 also did not take other steps to prevent customers from talking about their business, including, for example, by asking dairies not to disclose information they learned from Southwest Whey about the sale, storage, or delivery of whey. In 1993, Southwest Whey decided to dissolve the joint venture and later sued Nutrition 101, alleging that Nutrition 101’s continued efforts to market and distribute whey to hog farmers misappropriated Southwest Whey’s trade secrets relating to its methods and practices concerning the sale, marketing, and delivery of whey. Nutrition 101 filed a motion for summary judgment on Southwest Whey’s misappropriation claim, asserting that Southwest Whey had taken no steps to maintain the secrecy of its alleged trade secrets.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Mills, J.)

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